Header photo credit: CorVos

Sam Welsford and Casper van Uden helped light up the finale of Scheldeprijs from the lead group to eventually cross the line third and fourth after an impressive fight right to the finish.

The first half of the race set the tone and layout for what was to come with crosswinds early in the day splitting the race. Team DSM were always well represented at the front of affairs with initially Welsford, van Uden and Cees Bol in the front split with around 100 kilometres to go before Bol unfortunately punctured out of the front group.

The leaders, 13 in total, pressed on ahead working well and held their advantage on a similar sized chase group containing Tobias Lund Andresen. However the advantage went to the leaders as the chase faltered behind, seeing the gap grow to over two minutes inside the final 20 kilometres. It wasn’t soon after that the attacks started to fly in the lead group with Welsford and van Uden taking it in turns to both cover moves and attack.

With Kristoff going clear and staying away in the final few kilometres, Welsford fought hard to the line to take third with van Uden putting in a strong effort right to the finish to take fourth rounding out a strong day from the team at Scheldeprijs following Lorena Wiebes victory earlier in the day.

Team DSM Coach Roy Curvers said of the performance: “It was a hard race right from the gun until the finish. We had three guys in the first echelon of 17 riders, but unfortunately we lost Cees there with a puncture – otherwise we would be have been in an even better position for the final. Sam and Casper were doing a really good at the front though and with a lot of fast guys in the first group we had to be sharp and gamble a bit to who we reacted to and who we didn’t. But we raced for the win until the end and if we come home with third and fourth after such a hard race we have to be satisfied.”

“It was a pretty hard day out today and tough conditions with the rain and the wind,” explained Sam Welsford. “We were well represented in the front split until unfortunately Cees punctured but Casper and I worked well and made sure not to miss any moves. Into the last local lap the attacks started coming and we were making sure we didn’t miss any moves and were attacking ourselves too. We worked really well together and played the game. I was lucky enough to go long and hold on to take third. It’s a really good result for the team and we’re getting really close to the top step if we keep progressing the way we are and racing the way we are.”

Casper van Uden added: “We knew we had to be very alert from the gun today and looked out for each other all the time. Thanks to this we were well represented in the first group when it split. In the final Sam tried to stay fresh as I followed attacks and attacked myself. It was a super job from the team and really fun to race like this!”