Milan Menten had more ambitions for today's sprint: "Without Marijn's fall I would have definitely finished in the first three"

Milan Menten participated in his first ever grand tour sprint this afternoon, and delivered a nice fourth place. Lotto Dstny's sprinter could have done even better, he told Het Laatste Nieuws afterwards.

Spoil was the last corner, where Marijn van den Berg and Robbe Ghys went a little too fast and crashed. "I chose Marijn's wheel because I know he is very strong in long sprints. But the corner was much sharper than we expected: Marijn fell there and I was placed on the outside, so that I almost came to a standstill in the corner and dropped from third to ninth."

A loss for Menten, who rode a strong sprint. "After that I overtook another five riders. Beforehand I would've had signed for that fourth place, but without Marijn's fall I would have definitely finished in the first three. Too bad, but I am satisfied with my sprint."

The level of the grand tours takes some getting used to for the Limburger. "This is my first grand tour and it's nice to be able to compete at such a high level, but I have to admit it's very hectic. It's not going to be easy to beat Groves."