Following a sixth place last year in Paris-Roubaix, the fifth place in the 2014 event confirmed the capabilities of Zdenek Stybar (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) on the cobbles.
Zdenek Stybar (Omega Pharma-QuickStep). Photo: Cyclingnews
In the sprint for second place, he finished too far back to climb up onto the podium with his teammate and winner Niki Terpstra.
The Czech rider had mixed emotions about his ride since he felt more was possible, not only in the Queen of Classics but also in the other Classics.
“I’m happy I was able to confirm that I can ride the finale in the hardest races of the world, but of course every year you want a little bit more. Now I improved one place so I have five years to go,” said Stybar, laughing.
“I always had the legs for a better result. I was always there, but didn’t get great results. Today I’m fifth but (making) the podium would’ve been better. It came down to a sprint and that’s always a lottery.”
“I’m pleased that someone from our team won the race. It was a very hard race to control. It was the perfect moment (for Terpstra) to go. He came from behind and went immediately. You could see that there was nobody with the legs to close the gap.”
Having not only Tersptra and Stybar in the lead group but also Tom Boonen offered the Omega Pharma-QuickStep team a numerical advantage over the other riders in the breakaway. Though Terpstra won, it was obvious that Stybar also had the opportunity to launch an attack late in the race.
“As you could see, you have to go on a good place at the right moment. Then everything is possible. We were there with three guys and then it’s just (about picking) the moment to go. Niki was really strong because doing five kilometres alone is not really easy.” – Cyclingnews
