Jos van Emden takes second in the Eneco Tour time trial
Team LottoNL-Jumbo rider Jos van Emden placed second in the stage two time trial of the Eneco Tour today. Emden had 11'53 needed for the 9.6km time trial in Breda but it was five seconds slower than winner Rohan Dennis (BMC). Wilco Kelderman was fourth and his team-mate Primoz Roglic recorded the sixth best time. In the overall standings, Dylan Groenewegen lost the jersey to Rohan Dennis.
"Such a short time trial is always difficult, you're never totally empty after the race. I rode as fast as possible and left nothing," said Jos van Emden. "I would prefer to win but in this field it is very difficult. For me, riding a good time trial depends on many factors, in such a course like this, I know can I win. The real time trial riders can win on multiple courses."
Kelderman and Roglic
Besides Jos van Emden, Wilco Kelderman took fourth and Primoz Roglic placed sixth. Kelderman said, "This was a good time trial for me, I prefer a longer time trial and with more hills."
Roglic added, "I am satisfied with the time, though it can always be better, of course. Some of the corners were maybe a little harder, but I did my best. I'm still looking for my best type of time trial, such a short time trial is now also going well and that's nice to discover."
Trainer Mathieu Heijboer saw that they did well. "You always prefer to win, but the three men did their best. It looked very good, Jos rode a large gear and sat very still. We knew early on that it was going to be a great time."
Also Wilco Kelderman and Primoz Roglic rode a good time trial for the classification. "Roglic recorded a good target time that I could focus on with Kelderman. Wilco rode very aggressively and is in the final stretch, he was still under the time of Roglic."
TTT
On Friday, a team time trial is on the programme. Jos van Emden said, "I am certainly ambitious for that day. If we can ride top three, I'm content.
"We need to be sharp again, the team time trial will be very important for the general classification. We must ensure that we maintain a good team time trial for Primoz, Wilco and Jos."
Dylan Groenewegen
Dylan Groenewegen today lost the leader's jersey, but was not sorry. "It's not my thing, but I did a good time trial.
"It's nice to finally get started in the leader's jersey. It's motivating to ride hard in your own country. I am thinking of tomorrow, to recover well and then sprint again."