The Omloop Het Nieuwsblad didn’t turn out into a victory for the team. Just like last year it was Ian Stannard who was the strongest. Styby, who was there in the final, but missed the first group, finished seventh.
“Actually, it was not a good day for me personally”, Zdenek begins his story. “It started with a flat tire at the second time on the Haaghoek. The peloton started to ride very fast there. I knew it would be difficult to come back.”
A lot of riders dropped, which made it more difficult for Zdenek to return. “I’ve ridden about 10 kilometers behind the peloton, and that cost me a lot of energy. And then I also had cramps in my stomach.”
“But ok: I wasn’t there when our guys attacked. I joined a very strong Sep Vanmarcke and Greg Van Avermaet in the chasing group, but obviously I didn’t work with them, because our team had three guys in the front.”
Vanmarcke, Van Avermaet and Styby were hanging around 30 seconds behind the four leaders, but never came back. “And so we had to sprint for the fifth place. I didn’t sprint, because it wouldn’t be fair to Sep and Greg, since I was 30 kilometers in their wheel.”