Maas colors Leopard's day at Paris-Troyes breakaway

Just after noon, the start to Paris-Troyes was given in Nogent-sur-Seine and there was immediately a very high pace. The bunch exploded and broke into almost six pieces. When also the weather conditions went from bad to worse, all riders knew that they were up for a tough day in the saddle. When the race hit the local laps just before entering the city of Troyes, the two main bunches merged and attacks took place. For Leopard Pro Cycling, Jan Maas was involved as he bridged the gap to the front with a great effort. The four in front established a good lead of about four minutes to the peloton. Unfortunately, the peloton started a new battle and split again. This caused that the lead of Jan and his fellow attackers disappeared quickly. Because of the high pace, the dutchman was immediately dropped and both his and Leopard Pro Cycling's race was over. In front, 25 riders battled for the victory, which Jérémy Cabot took in the sprint.

Jan Maas: "It was a tough day in the breakway. We attacked in the local laps when there were only fifty riders left in front, with also Alexander, Jack and Szymon in that group. In the end, I was 100 kilometers in the attack and we were caught with 20 kilometers to go. When this happened, the bunch immediately tried to form echelons again and I had to let them go. At that point, the race had already been really hard and I had nothing left in me. The upcoming period I want to start every race in a good condition and strive for great results together with the team. I sense that I am able to take a victory this year and I will hunt that goal down."

Results Paris-Troyes (UCI 1.2)
32. Jan Maas (NED)  + 1'24"
46. Alexander Krieger (GER) + 2'52"
49. Jack Burke (CAN) + 2'55"
76. Szymon Rekita (POL) + 9'22"
DNF. Pit Leyder, Konrad Gessner & Filip Maciejuk