Alice Barnes narrowly missed a podium spot after a strong sprint on the first stage of Lotto Belgium Tour today in Brugge, Belgium. Alice finished fourth behind stage winner Lorena Wiebes (DSM).

“Positioning was really important today. At times I was in the wrong place and I had the team there to help me correct it,” said Alice.

“In the final it was very fast and I was following the wheels. It was tough to move myself up in the sprint and the finishing positions were basically the same as how we all started the sprint. I suppose I am happy to be in the mix but disappointed to miss the podium,” added Alice.

It was a crash-marred stage with several riders hitting the ground in different crashes. Alena Amialiusik crashed within the final ten kilometres of the stage but was able to continue riding to the finish and will take to the start line tomorrow.

Following the stage, Alice maintains her fifth position in the general classification, ten seconds behind tour leader Jolien d’Hoore (BEL).

Stage two action starts at 13:30CEST and can be followed on Twitter with #LottoBelgiumTour. The live broadcast of the 137.5km stage with 1470m elevation, starts at 15:30CEST on GCN+, Eurosport Player and on the race website.

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