Bos wins World Ports Classic

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Consistent sprinting by Theo Bos (Belkin) on both stages of the World Ports Classic was enough for the Dutchman to record his first overall victory despite missing out in the stage 2 win to Roman Sinkeldam (Giant-Shimano). Bos and Sinkeldam were tied on the same time but the better finishing places gave the win to the Belkin rider who also took home the points jersey.

"This is my first overall victory and that's pretty cool," said Bos. "For the team, this is a great victory, as well. The sprint train was super today. I was dropped off perfectly by my men. The team also did great by controlling the race."

While Bos admitted after the stage that he would have liked a stage win as well, his eagerness on stage 2 ended up costing him another trip to the podium.

"I went for it again, but unfortunately it wasn't enough", said Bos. "I started my sprint too early. It's a shame, although I have to admit that Ramon was very quick. The final was tricky with all those turns. Everyone wanted to be in the front and so we had to sprint for position ahead of every corner."

May had been a month of almost for Sinkeldam before he burst through to record his first win of 2014. The 25-year-old was second on the first day of the 4 Jours de Dunkerque to Arnaud Demaré (FDJ) and was then runner up twice more to Demaré a week later at the Tour de Picardie where he also finished second overall.

"I don't get my chances very often but when I do I make sure that I give it everything so it is great to get a win here," said Sinkeldam after the stage who also won the best young riders jersey.

"It was pretty easy for most of the day until 20km to go where Nikias, Jonas and I came down in a small crash. We had to work to get back up to the front but the guys worked really hard for me and then Jonas did a great job of getting me in the right wheels at the end.

"The sprint opened up with 300m to go and from there it was flat out to the line. It's my first win since Hainan in 2012 so it's a great feeling."

How it unfolded
The final stage was controlled by the sprinters teams there was not split in the crosswinds like the day before. In the final kilometres the sprint trains started to get organised although a small crash with 20km left to race was a deterrent but not a derailment.

"It was a difficult and controlled stage today with another very fast finish," said Team Giant-Shimano coach, Rudi Kemna. "Yesterday things did not quite go right for the team but today they did a great job.

"Jonas did a big pull in the final kilometres to bring Ramon into position and then Ramon did a really good sprint. It was a really fast finish and the sprint opened up from a long way out but Ramon was really powerful and knew which wheels to be on and where.

"In the end he just missed out on taking the overall win too on count-back but this win is really good for his confidence and will help him to take another step forward in his development."

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