We're back to racing in our own country. We can't even begin to explain how good this feels.
Today is fairly flat, with only one minor hill on the way. Stijn is in great shape and will be looking to add a second win to his palmares, but the likes of Sutton, Haedo and Matthews won't be giving away victories!
Willy Wouters
There's not much to say for me. I had a fairly easy day and watched Saxo Bank doing all the work for Haedo, who then missed out on the sprint.
Stijn Van Gent
The weather was cloudy, but no rain. Every now and then, the sun came through. My legs were pretty good and I enjoyed riding today.
Nearing the sprint, Saxo's sprinter Haedo got lost way behind, so the pack was left leaderless. That's when Dennis Vanendert took initiative and took Dehaes and myself on his wheel, leading us out. He was forced to take a long turn but he managed himself perfectly!
Dehaes launched an impressive sprint!
Then it was up to me. I unleashed all the power still left in my body!
But it was not enough. Sutton was way too fast, and Ista used his wheel to get a second place. I finish third.
This is a good start in Wallonie. A podium is always very nice, so let's see how it goes from here. I hope to win a stage here, though!
Result
1
Christopher Sutton
Sky Pro Cycling
4h57'44
2
Kevyn Ista
Accent.Jobs - Willems Veranda’s
s.t.
3
Stijn Van Gent
Lotto Belisol
s.t.
IanButler
4
Danilo Wyss
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
5
Roy Jans
An Post - Sean Kelly
s.t.
6
Reinier Honig
Landbouwkrediet-Euphony
s.t.
7
Michel Kreder
Team Garmin-Barracuda
s.t.
8
Baptiste Planckaert
Landbouwkrediet-Euphony
s.t.
9
Nico Eeckhout
An Post - Sean Kelly
s.t.
10
Barry Markus
Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
Oh, and then there's this!
It'll be close to impossible to taking this jersey home, but I will enjoy wearing it tomorrow!
Today might be a great opportunity for Stijn to take his second of the season!
This is classified as flat, but don't let it fool you, it's constantly going up and down hills, and the narrow roads will definitely make for a nervous race. Everyone will be tired out endlessly, and that's why it might be the best chance for Stijn!
Willy Wouters
The race was hard, as predicted. The peloton ripped up several times. The whole team worked hard to stay up front, it wasn't an easy task, though.
In the end, we had enough men left to form a lead-out train. Since Dehaes was left behind, I was to lead out Stijn, but I'll let him tell all about it.
Stijn Van Gent
Nearing the finish, after a hard 200km of racing, I was extremely proud of the team to see the were able to box up a 4-men lead-out.
Descending on narrow roads has strange side-effects. At the foot of the climb, we had an entire lead-out, at the other side of the climb, coming down, I only had Willy in front of me. But he was going hard - incredibly hard. As hard as only a time trialist can go.
He gave me the perfect lead-out, and I started sprinting. A bit earlier than I would have liked to, but the legs were fine so I had a fighting chance!
Coming around the corner, I was still in the lead, but Sutton was making his move!
I got sandwiched in an exciting battle for the first place! Sutton and Caethoven were going unbelievably fast!
My legs were burning up, but I was so close to my second victory, my first in Belgium!
I made it! I've never seen a sprint so close before. I was completely flat-out when I hit that finish line!
Amazing. It feels just as fantastic as my first win, I'm so happy! I'm definitely growing and I feel much stronger than I was at the start of the season. This victory is for all my team mates here, who've all done excellent work. I can't thank them enough!
I'm both 2nd in GC and in Points, but with the same time and amount of points. Tomorrow's hilly stage may be a bit too hard for me, so that GC will be for a puncher, but I can start dreaming about the Points Jersey! It won't be easy, but I can give it everything I've got!
Jesleyh: The lead-out did its job, like the real Lotto
marcovdw: Thanks!
FreitasPCM: Thank you, he's on a roll now!
krisa: Glad to hear that, thanks
dienblad: It definitely wasn't given to him, a hard battle for it. Since I haven't heard you saying it yet, I assume you're liking their stats a lot better this time?
Jakstar22: Thanks, I guess once you make the first, it's easier to make a second!
This stage is expected to make some changes in the GC. The final climb isn't long, but steep.
The plan for today was to stay up front and unleash all power on the final climb. Willy or Stijn, depending on the situation.
Stijn Van Gent
Gert Dockx went into the breakaway of the day, taking 18 mountain points. Riblon remains leader with 19 points!
I stayed well within the pack and was able to launch my sprint without the risk of losing time!
Willy Wouters
Slagter, the young Dutch talent and our future team mate, took us for a run in the final 20km. We never panicked and brought back the gap to a mere 5 seconds.
But when the final climb started, I realized it was now or never. I put myself up front of the pack.
I started sprinting from very far out, hoping to reach Slagter in time.
I caught him in the final corner! To my surprise, I was still going strong.
And nobody came around me anymore, I wasn't threatened so I could take my very first win on the road! Two consecutive wins for me and Stijn! What a day!
Stijn celebrates like he'd won himself. What a great friend! He finishes 9th and takes some necessary points!
This is just amazing. We're both in the shape of our life and we're both taking home the wins to prove it. This victory also means I've really been developing in strength this year. At the juniors, I never packed a mean sprint, and I lacked acceleration, but it seems all the tough training is bearing some sweet fruit! Philippe Gilbert, watch out!
This is simply amazing. We're both in the top 3 at the moment. Two more flat races remain and we'll do everything we can to keep that leader's jersey for Stijn!
We also believe this proves we've been training extremely hard this year, and that we're strong enough to stay in the World Tour.
Thanks for being here with us,
Stijn & Willy
what a win! I can smell points jersey 
