A 200 kilometre long parcours with the Kemmelberg and the infamous Moeren awaited the peloton today as they rolled out of Bredene for the Bredene-Koksijde Classic. Starting with a young squad the team worked well together to protect fast finisher Sam Welsford. Guiding him over the cobbled climbs and through the crosswinds of the Moeren.

A five rider group managed to forge clear, getting a maximum advantage of more than four minutes over the bunch. After the hill zone, the peloton split in the crosswind but the move did not last long as everything got back together, when the sprint teams started chasing.

When the race hit the local circuit, the five leaders were well insight of the chasing peloton, with the last of the escapees caught in the final lap. Team DSM did a massive job and showed great commitment to get Welsford to the sprint in the best position possible. Niklas Märkl put in a big effort to launch the sprint with Welsford sprinting to his first top five in a .Pro race, taking fourth place for the team.

Speaking after the finish, Welsford said: “It was a hectic day today with cobbled climbs and crosswinds after the cobbles. The guys rode really well protecting me in the crosswinds and giving it everything they had. Hats off to the team for putting me in a good position. I hit one of the barriers going into the final corner but we still kept going and I sprinted to fourth. It is a good result for the team and a good start for what is still to come in the season. If we continue to race aggressively and at the front, I think we have a really good season ahead of us.“

Team DSM coach Roy Curvers said: ”We went into the race focussing on staying together, communicating and fighting for position. The guys did really well and that is how we got to the final. The guys kept working on the basics and they kept fighting to bring Sam into the finish in the best position possible. In the last corner, Sam hit the barriers but he kept fighting and kept going till the line, resulting in fourth place. The story of the day is the fighting spirit of the guys, they proved that if you keep going that you will get close. I look back on a successful day and this result will be used moving forward and developing the sprint train further.”