Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team had its leadout training running smoothly in the final 10km of the 203km Stage 1 of Eneco Tour. Tom Boonen was sitting comfortably behind Michal Kwiatkowski, Gert Steegmans, Sylvain Chavanel and Guillaume Van Keirsbulck as OPQS had command of the peloton.
As the race continued, BMC Racing Team, Argos-Shimano, Garmin-Sharp and others moved to the front and the battle began for sprint position. However, shortly after a roundabout with 2km to go, a crash in the peloton affected the ability of OPQS to work its way back to the front for the finish.
"The crash conditioned the final of the race," Boonen said. "Suddenly I was alone and it was hard to stay in the front with the wind and the high speed. In the last meters I couldn't launch my sprint. Until the crash the team was perfect and everything was going well. We will see tomorrow. The Team Time Trial will be a great test for everybody."
Marcel Kittel (Argos-Shimano) won the sprint, with Arnaud Demare (FDJ-BigMat) taking 2nd and Taylor Phinney (BMC Racing Team) placing 3rd.