Sam Welsford 3rd in hectic GP Monseré sprint

Following on from yesterday’s success at GP Criquielion, Team DSM were back in action today as they looked to continue their good form at the mostly flat parcours of GP Monseré. It was an attacking start to the day with the team active in making sure no dangerous groups got away, before an eight rider breakaway eventually snapped the elastic and formed out front. Building a lead of around three minutes, the gap was held steady due to the good work on the front from Leon Heinschke and Pat Eddy.

Heading into the last 40 kilometres the pace was dramatically increased and the peloton split into three with Alex Edmondson, Sam Welsford, Tobias Lund Andresen, Niklas Märkl and Casper van Uden all making the front group of around 25. After a frenetic 20 kilometres everything came back together but in the meantime Märkl unfortunately had a touch of wheels and despite getting back on his bike, he wasn’t able to return to the smaller bunch.

Approaching the flamme rouge it was really hectic in the bunch with the narrow and twisting Belgian roads and a lot of road furniture with Van Uden, Lund Andresen and Edmonson coming late to bring finisher Welsford up. Showing a good turn of speed, Welsford burst out of the pack but had to go the long way round in the sprint and couldn’t get back on terms with the leading duo – having to settle for third place at the line.

Welsford said: “It was another wet day in Belgium with a technical course, with some cobble sections and skinny roads. The guys rode really well pretty me all day again, like yesterday. The commitment and the trust in each other has been really nice the last couple of days and we’ve been able to get some good results over the weekend. I think if we keep working like this then we’ll be on the top step again soon.”

Team DSM coach Roy Curvers added: “I think we again made a good plan, wanting to take control of the race and the boys did that really well. Going into the final there was some splits and we had five guys in a group of around 25 – which was a good situation for us. Unfortunately we then lost Niklas in a crash. The front three groups came back together so we went towards the sprint with around 100 guys. I think in general the guys rode a good final, with a few small mistakes, which in the end caused Sam to have to start his sprint from a bit far back. Still, I think to get a podium then we can take a lot of confidence from how we have raced this weekend; racing from the front and having influence. It has seen us race two times for the victory. If we can take this confidence and trust into the next races then there is more to come from us.”