"We had to use a lot of teammates for that chase" - Rune Herregodts locks in ZLM Tour GC despite a heavy late crash

Rune Herregodts secured the overall victory in the ZLM Tour despite a fall. While Alexander Salby (Bingoal WB) is the surprising winner of the final stage, Herregodts had other things to worry about. Luckily his team was ready to leave everything on the roads for their leader.

"It was a day of contradictory feelings. In the beginning we knew that things were going to go sideways, and we didn't want to get caught out like yesterday. So today we were consistently at the front with four or five men," Herregodts begins his flash interview. "Many riders were done early and then we rode away with about ten guys. We did cooperate, but we also allowed the others to return for a sprint with Gerben Thijssen."

"But then everything suddenly turned around," continues the overall winner of the ZLM Tour. "A rider from Astana suddenly falls in front of me, I dive over him and I fall on my shoulder. Luckily I didn't break my collarbone, but when I got back on the bike the peloton was already gone. So from a very good situation with two strong riders at the front and a chance to win a stage, it was suddenly all hands on deck," says Herregodts.

Fortunately for Intermaché - Wanty, the race leader was able to return to the peloton, although this did not happen automatically. "We had to use a lot of teammates for that chase and that meant that Gerben no longer had the right support at the end. I also had some shoulder problems, which made it more difficult to accelerate after corners. I was still a bit afraid of the last few laps," says the Belgian.

"I want to thank the team, because they really helped me yesterday and today. The next goal will be the Tour of Belgium, but first let's see how things go in the coming days because I am a bit worried about my time trial position. The way I feel now, it seems difficult to get into the right time trial position. But for now I'm just going to enjoy this and we'll see how things go next week," he concludes.