Interview | Jumbo-Visma takes stock after Roubaix: ‘I would dare give us an 8.5 score'

'Hahaha. I was driving in the first car, so I think I had a good perspective of the race. Soudal Quick-Step also had a lot of bad luck with flat tires on the first cobbled sections, for example, but they all got back into the race. However, we have had so much bad luck at crucial moments that we were never able to make those comebacks. Just look at Dylan van Baarle (crash in Bos van Wallers, injuries are not too bad, ed.), Christophe Laporte (puncture after Bos van Wallers) and finally also Wout van Aert (puncture at Carrefour de l'Arbre). That’s tough luck, indeed.’

‘Even in that case, we just race with a plan. The things that happen along the way, you have to deal with those too. We have dealt with everything the best we could here, but we have our limits.’

'Well, how is all that even possible? We do wonder as well. Some people find that appealing about cycling and normally I like it too, but now not so much. Again, it's just a lot of bad luck and that's unfortunate, but we have seen a very good Wout van Aert. The way he dropped Mads Pedersen in the final stretch – that clearly showed how sharp he still was.’

'Wout was just very good. Unfortunately. It's simply terribly disappointing now, but that's also part of the game. It's up to us to keep our backs straight. We may not have achieved our goals this time, but we are having a fantastic season. 24 wins, five classics in the spring and the last three WorldTour stage races. We'll just have to hang on to that.'

'I have been to many races. And I would give us an 8.5 score. We've had a superb spring and I'm certainly proud of the boys.'