8 riders make the break. Arredondo seems the most important name, but he as well will struggle on the cobbles.


With 139km to go we already hit the first cobbled section.


We make a big leap now. With 50kms to go Bontrager is kicking the pace in the pack, causing the lead to drop to 2min38.


On the final cobbled section it's still a gap for the break, but for how long?


Not for very long. With 9kms to go the break is reeled in. This clears the road for Jonas, who immediately attacks. Kristian meanwhile is charging up for the sprint.


He unfortunately gets reeled in. This signals the mass sprint, with Rodriguez leading under the banner.


Which is enough for the American.

He beats Drujon and Drujon for the podium. Fatbardh comes 4th, just beating Lampier. Hammarling coming 8th makes it 2 in the top-10 for us.

@The Rider: Unfortunately, Fatbardh had been pushed back a little, so that was impossible. Cobbles closer to the finish and we could have tried like in le Triptyque.
@Ollfardh: Could it be a curse?
@sutty: Yes. Unfortunately not good enough for the podium though.
@Shonak: Yeah. It seems like Vacansoleil missed a big opportunity with all the potential here. Hopefully a new sponsor does see the potential.

The break consists of only 2 riders today: Silva (LA-Antarte) and Pereira (BIC)


Bad luck for us. Peter gets a puncture. Luckily he remains in the pack.


With approximately 80kms to go the wind is increasing. We now go to the front and try to set up some echelons.


Only 8kms later this is what happens:


With 45kms to go the wind is dying a little. Rabobank now sets a high pace, not in the last place because of an attack of Klostergaard.


The high pace causes Klostergaard to be reeled in with 30kms to go. With 18kms to go the 2 Portuguese are reeled in as well.


With 15kms to go Pedersen attacks.


With 5kms to go his lead is 32 seconds. Can he surprise?


Under the banner the lead is very small, but it's still there.


At the finish

Kristian edges out all other riders. Pedersen will be very angry, as he came extremely close. He even falls off the podium, which is completed by McNally and Zabel. Peter comes in 7th, to make this a perfect day for us. Honorable mention goes to Djaja, who took off 20 seconds of Pedersen's lead and managed to come 11th himself.

@Ollfardh: There are never too many
@Hobbit: I thought you'd like that. It's better than your depressed comments
@Jesleyh: An excellent victory!
@sutty: Yeah, he really timed it perfectly!
@nacho: It's going well indeed!
@TMM: Yeah!
@Shonak: The team is doing great indeed!
@welker: Not the worst of all indeed
@All: Thanks for following. Seeing such an amount of comments is giving me a huge motivation.

It would be very nice if the team would get a wildcard for the Eneco Tour so I can already get some experience this year.