Danny van Poppel almost strikes success in "hectic" finale in Belgium

Danny van Poppel secured the second position in Baloise Belgium Tour second stage. He was tasked to pull the sprint for Sam Bennett, but Sam was unable to sprint himself in the hectic final kilometer and so Van Poppel took his role.

The Dutchman eventually finished second, behind Jasper Philipsen. "Well, the last kilometer was hectic. It was almost impossible to stay together, as it was the coming and going of riders. I lost Sam at one point. He then said on the radio that I had to sprint for myself," the Dutch sprinter explained.

Although in the first months of collaboration van Poppel acted only as a leadout man for Sam Bennett, with the Irish sprinter's difficulties to perform and lack of form, van Poppel was occasionally give opportunities to go for his own chances. Yesterday's sprint was one of them, and he came close to a big win.

He went on to describe the slightly uphill sprint in which he crossed the line only before stage winner Jasper Philipsen. "I had to come from far away, but there were a lot of headwinds and most of the guys attacked too early. I was in Philipsen's wheel and finished 'surfing' in second place," he concluded.