Team DSM dominate GP Criquielion as Sam Welsford powers to sprint win

Team DSM rode perfectly throughout the day to control the early breakaway, cover the late moves and set finisher Sam Welsford up for the finale who duly delivered with a monstrous sprint to secure the win at today’s GP Criquielion.

From the beginning of the race Team DSM were ever present at the front of the bunch, controlling the tempo and staying out of trouble on the narrow and twisting Belgian roads. Coming into the closing 20 kilometres the break was caught and the team reacted brilliantly to shut down a flurry of attacks, before turning their attention to the lead out. Charging under the flamme rouge the boys in black dropped Welsford off expertly, who used his nous to wait a few seconds before launching his sprint, surging past the competition to take Team DSM’s Men’s program’s fourth win of the season.

Speaking after the race a delighted Welsford said: “It was a hard day and I’m really relieved to finish it off for the guys. They protected me all day, rode in the wind all day for me. I’m stoked to get that first one day win on the board. In the last kilometres it was pretty strung out but the guys were mega covering the attacks. I had Tobi, Casper and Edmo in front of me going into the last straight. We knew it was a long sprint, going uphill then flattening off to the line so we didn’t want to go too early. I knew they would come fast from the back so I let a couple of guys past me then used them to go over the top. I had some good legs today, which all came from the guys looking after me to get to the finish. We took a lot of responsibility in the chase today, then covered every move in the finale and the guys delivered me perfectly. We deserved that today. It’s how we’re working as a team, showing good teamwork and commitment to each other so hopefully if we keep working like this then we’ll get more wins on the board soon.”

Team DSM coach Roy Curvers added: “We had a plan upfront to really take the initiative and control over the race. When racing in Belgium it’s key to have an overview of what’s happening and stay in the front. When an early break went we immediately took control together with Lotto and we were always in the front, so when the race got harder we kept that position too. We were strong to cover the attacks in the final and could execute the plan exactly how we had spoken about in the meeting beforehand. I think we can gain a lot of trust and confidence out of this race.”