Teuns and Hermans have the legs for the Amstel Gold Race, while Wellens can afford to take it easy

With three favorites up front, the Belgian delegation was in the group that could sprint for victory in the Flèche Brabançonne. However, Dylan Teuns (Israel-Premier Tech, second), Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates, third) and Quinten Hermans (Alpecin-Deceuninck, sixth) saw Benoit Cosnefroy (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) snatch the victory.

Teuns was almost riding a home race, but despite an impressive acceleration on the Moskesstraat, he couldn't take home the win. "I think I could normally take on Benoit in a sprint, but of course, he had the advantage of moving to the front one lap later," he told IDLProCycling.com, among others. "The same was true for Quinten: two alert, fast guys, so I knew things could get difficult. However, Joe Blackmore, my teammate, also came back and rode a fantastic last one and a half kilometers. It's just a shame that when we went for it with two laps to go, guys like Quinten and Benoit didn't follow. But well, for them, it's the perfect race, while we had to use a lot of energy."

Teuns extremely frustrated, but happy with his sprint after a tough race

"That was actually exactly what we needed to happen," the Belgian continued, referring to his early attack, which saw some of the top riders not following along. "So it became a difficult sprint, but I knew Benoit was right on my wheel. I started from a distance, but he overtook me. In hindsight, you can say that, had Benoit and those other guys gone with us, the race would have been decided then and there. It would have died down in the back, and we would have had a clear path. That's the pity for us. We either went for it a lap too early, or they were lucky to have teammates who could work and straighten things out."

"Now we had to waste too much energy," Teuns concluded once again. Yet, the ever-likable Flemish rider can definitely say that - after previously securing an eighth place in the Tour of Flanders - he has shown he is ready for the upcoming hill classics. "Definitely. I always enjoy adding this race in. Now I'll have three good days of recovery before I aim for the highest possible result in the Amstel Gold Race. I'm really looking forward to it. My form is good, so we'll see what happens. Also, my sprint appears to be reasonably good after a tough race."

Hermans ready for upcoming classics

Hermans will also be racing in South Limburg this Sunday. He commented on his sixth place to Sporza, "I had to put in lots of effort to get to the front with those guys, but I ultimately fell short. I was a bit surprised by Marijn van den Berg's move, although he also got that gap somewhat by chance. Then he chose to keep going, which perhaps wasn't the smartest move."

"Ultimately, this finish is fair," Hermans states. "I was beaten on merit, as I didn't have the legs anymore. And I was facing some serious competition, although I could have been a bit more alert in the penultimate round. Then I wouldn't have had to make the effort to rejoin them. That might have done me in, although as a team, we did well. I can keep up with the best riders and feel ready for what's to come."

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Wellens prepares for busy Tour preparation after busy spring

After he impressed from the Omloop all the way to Overijse, concluding with a podium finish, we won't see Wellens in action again this spring. "I think we rode a good race," he concluded afterwards. "I would have preferred to wait another round before attacking, but Dylan already went for it pretty hard. Then we were left with three, and I thought we were going to sprint like that, but the group caught up."

"Then Van den Berg made a move, but Israel-Premier Tech still had two guys there, so it turned into a sprint," Wellens said. "I was actually afraid of sprinting against Van den Berg, but it was also no longer possible to get away. All in all, I'm satisfied with my preseason. It went better than I expected. I made my presence felt in all the races, but as a team, we were very strong too."

Now he can take a breather. "I'll take some rest before we recon some Tour stages and then go directly to altitude training. After that, it's on to the Dauphiné and then another altitude camp, so I hope to be in good shape for the Tour de France, in order to help Tadej win."