Thijssen happy, mixed feelings for Van den Berg and Meeus: Here's what they said after the first Algarve stage!

Gerben Thijssen of Intermarché-Wanty clinched the first stage of the Tour of the Algarve on Wednesday, emerging victorious after a frenetic race. The Belgian sprinter outsmarted Marijn van den Berg of EF Education-EasyPost and Jordi Meeus from BORA-hansgrohe, leading to a podium dominated by Dutch and Belgian talent in southern Portugal.

The stage winner was obviously pleased after the race, having also clinched the GP Almería in Spain a few days earlier. "You could definitely call that a good start to the season, with two victories," Thijssen concluded. "It's incredible, especially at this level. I worked very hard this winter to reach this level, and now you see that effort is paying off."

"It was a tough sprint,' he continued. "In the last fifteen kilometers, we were constantly facing a headwind, but there was a tricky little climb two thousand meters from the end. That was quite challenging, but I knew: if I could get over it, I would be in a good position. The team did a fantastic job, always having six guys around me, so they certainly played their part. We'll try that again on day three, but first, we're going for Rune Herregodts in Thursday's stage," said Thijssen.

Mixed feelings for Van den Berg and Meeus

Van den Berg secured second place and gave a brief reaction to Cycling Pro Net. "It was pretty hectic. We pushed hard over that last hill and then it was really fast downhill, so I really needed the good support of my team. Stefan (Bissegger) tried to do a lead-out, but it was hard to find him. I came too late and from too far back, so yeah, second..." says the Dutchman.

Meeus, who finished second at this finish in Lagos last year, found himself in third place this time. "I was in the mix, but I didn't have the best legs. They felt empty after barely 150 kilometers, so yeah... third isn't bad, but it's unfortunate that I'm not in form at the moment. It was a tricky finish, after a fairly calm ride with headwinds. I'm already focusing on the third stage," tells the BORA-hansgrohe rider.