"We did well with BEAT over there, but back we couldn't fight the Alpecin guys" - Thijs Zonneveld looks back at Egmond-Pier-Egmond beach race won by Ramon Sinkeldam

Ramon Sinkeldam won the prestigious Egmond-Pier-Egmond beach race on Saturday. The Alpecin-Deceuninck rider beat Rick van Breda, while his Belgian teammate Jonas Rickaert completed the podium. AD columnist Thijs Zonneveld finished fifth.

Zonneveld was present at press conference the day before the race. "For me, Egmond is the classic of the year. A bold statement, but it feels a bit like the Milan - San Remo of beach racing. A lot can go wrong and it will be decided in one or two moments," he describes.

And so it turned out to be for the number five of the race. "It was low flying again, from Egmond to the Pier and back. We did well with BEAT over there, but back we couldn't fight the Alpecin guys," he refers to Sinkeldam and Rickaert.

The winner of the race was naturally content. "It was a very tough race. It was full gas from the start. I was in a group behind three leaders. We only caught them on the way back after Wijk aan Zee. I left Castricum together with Van Breda, who was also super strong. Jonas managed to catch up, but that cost him a lot of energy, leaving him with nothing left for the sprint. I then knocked Rick on the Boulevard," CyclingOnline quoted Sinkeldam.