Today our champion rode in the Quick Step colors for the first time. He made his long awaited debut in the first of five stages in the Four Days of Dunkirk.
“It was fun,” he said after the race. “I have to say I wasn't really nervous this morning because I didn't know what to expect.”
The first stage took the peloton on a 180km journey from Dunkirk to Orchies. “And we did the first 100km in two hours. It was really fast. So tough enough,” Styby laughed.
After that the tempo slowed and Stefano Borchi saw his chance to go on the attack. The Italian built up a seven minute lead, but was caught with 16km to go.
“The finale was dangerous,” Zdenek noted. “The last kilometer was on bad roads and there were cars parked on the side. I finished in the middle of the peloton in 55th place. And I'm pleased with that.”
And what about tomorrow? “There's a 166km stage from Douai to Iwuy with two climbs.”