Moreno Hofland could not have wished a better return to racing after his horrific crash in the Tour of California as he won yesterday's opening stage of the Tour of Utah. Having been forced to watch many races on television, the Dutchman was pleased to return to his winning way straight away.

Moreno Hofland won the first stage of the Tour of Utah on Monday. The Belkin Pro Cycling TEAM rider finished off perfect teamwork in Cedar City, picked up the win and the overall lead in a bunch sprint.

Hofland sustained severe injuries in May after a harsh crash in the Tour of California. The young Dutchman broke several ribs and suffered a fracture in his lower back vertebrae. In Utah, he returned to competitive racing.

“It’s fantastic to win straight away”, said Hofland, who had a strong spring and even won a stage in Paris-Nice. “After my crash, I had to miss several races, which I had to watch on television. The people here know that I was out for a long time and they’re very enthusiastic. I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time and I’m just super happy to race again. I’m very proud of the team. They did a great job today.”
 

“Our goal was to win the stage with Moreno today,” said Sports Director Erik Dekker. “We wanted no more than five riders in the break, so that we could control the attack and eventually, exactly five men escaped, so that was fine.”

Dekker praised the work of the entire team afterwards.

“Maarten Tjallingii and Martijn Tusveld rode at the front all day long and gave the leaders no more than 3.5 minutes. In the final, Martijn Keizer and Wilco Kelderman also contributed and in the last two kilometres, the sprint train with Jetse Bol, Dennis van Winden and Robert Wagner finished the job with Moreno. It was a true team effort. The men executed the plan perfectly.”
 

Hofland will start Tuesday’s second stage in the yellow jersey, but he’s not fixated on defending the jersey.

“The ride is pretty tough and I expect a group of thirty riders to sprint for the victory. I’ll try to survive, but the yellow jersey is not sacred. I want to save a little for Wednesday. I expect a real sprint again then.”