14th October – Prologue: The Hague – The Hague
The Tour of Holland got underway under the lights in The Hague on Tuesday evening, with a short four kilometre blast around the Zuiderpark. Some falling rain just before the start of the stage made for some slippery roads and changeable conditions, particularly those who went out early. That didn’t deter Team Picnic PostNL’s Nils Eekhoff though, who set out fast and set a strong tempo around the course, trying to keep the power down and take the tight corners as best as possible. Crossing the line with a time of four minutes and 31 seconds, Eekhoff moved into the provisional hot seat at the moment. Although he would be nudged down the order, he still ended the day with a good sixth place; with the rest of the team getting around the course in a nice way too.
After the stage Eekhoff expressed: “It was a special opening stage in the dark at The Tour of Holland. In short prologues like this every second counts and perfection is key. Unfortunately, I messed up one corner which cost me quite some time and energy to regain my speed. It’s a shame to not be competing for the win because of this mistake. I’m disappointed with that, but we’ll fight back the next days.”
