Vlad Van Mechelen storms to another top 5 finish in Bretagne after solid Development Team DSM display

Photo Credit: Direct Velo / Michaël Gilson

Another successful day of racing for Development Team DSM at stage five of Tour de Bretagne on Saturday. After a great race wherein the guys protected Vlad Van Mechelen, he sprinted to the finish and crossed the line fifth.

After an already strong-looking campaign this week in the west of France, the guys of our Development program showed once again their steady improvements. The official start of stage five took place just after one o’clock in Sérent, knowing the finish line would be 174 kilometres away in Louisfert. Several breakaways were attempted, including one with our own Axel Källberg and Enzo Leijnse. The pace remained and ensured the bunch split up in two, after which everything came back together after a while.

Not much longer afterwards a group of riders successfully executed their breakaway. Into the last 70 kilometres Development Team DSM moved up to the front of the peloton in pursuit of the leaders who seemed not to work well together. This resulted in the break being caught within the final ten kilometres as the guys managed to get Van Mechelen in front of the race. In the finale, the team produced a superb lead out while Vlad gave it his all and finished a solid 5th place.

Van Mechelen expressed: “On paper, it looked like an easier flat stage, but because of that a lot of teams wanted to be in the breakaway. That made the first half of the race super chaotic. A small split ended up happening, but it got under control very quickly. Once we went into the final the team did an amazing job to keep me at the front the entire time, keeping me safe from some scary crashes and giving me the chance to sprint for a nice result. So, hats off to them!”