The first stage finished in a bunch sprint. Liv Racing Xstra worked hard to position Amber van der Hulst for the final sprint. The Dutch rider did a good sprint and finished on the podium.
After yesterday`s prologue Jeanne Korevaar told the team would ride assertive during the stages. The team kept word in the first stage in and around Zulte. All stage long there was at least one Liv Racing Xstra rider in front of the peloton covering attacks or chasing a breakaway. After some breakaways were caught the peloton headed to a bunch sprint.
In that sprint Amber van der Hulst was well positioned in the final metres. She delivered a strong sprint and finished third behind Lorena Wiebes and Mylene de Zoete. Van der Hulst moved up to a sixth place in the overall classification. “It is my first race since I recovered from covid. The training went well the last weeks, so I was excited to start racing again. The goal was to position well for the final and try my luck in the sprint.”
“In the final kilometres I moved up in the peloton thanks to the help of Alison and Jeanne. I could save some energy for the sprint that way. I was in the wheel of Wiebes when we launched the sprint. I felt I still miss the real ‘kick’ to launch the sprint, but that is because I did a lot of endurance training lately. Still it felt good to be there in the final metres and battle for the stage win. It feels very good to get the confidence of the team and get my chances for a sprint this race. We will try again in the next days”, Van der Hulst commented after the stage.