It is another wet Belgian day, the pre race talk has been whether Bpost can finally deliver a win on home soil and either Nikolas Maes Pieter Vanspeybrouck
will be eager to break the hoodoo. Mind you as we have seen this season they have two rival teams on cobbles in Pokerstars whose best cobbler Frederik Nolf
has struggled to impose himself on the team. However the Dutch cobbled squad Koppert managed to get the win in Flanders through Tom Veelers
These names count as our favourites today along with the ever dangerous Adam Blythe
and the enterprising Nokere Koerse winner Damien Gaudin
We have just 88 non control riders to battle what is seen as one of the most demanding cobbled courses on the CTour circuit. In the last 65kms we have 4 cobbled climbs before the last flatter cobbled stretch just over 20km before the finish.
We get a six man early move for the pack control who are pictured here on one of the early leg cobbled leg testers.
Dries Beatse Natnael Berhane Simon Clarke Marwane Zenagui Jakub Novak Nevio Tirloni
are the riders in here and it is hard to make a case for any of them to be a viable threat being that they are all developmental riders really with the exception of Oz Cyclings Clarke.
The three big cobbled teams of Bpost, Pokerstars and Koppert keep the gap to the break under five minutes as the day builds towards the climax of the race. The hostilities start to kick off as we reach the 65km to go mark and the first of four cobbled climbs.
Remco Broers
leads the pack up this one and sure enough creates a 37 - 50 split in the pack.
It is bad news for Oz cycling as Baden Cooke
is dropped in the second 50 man group. For the other squads its a case of counting the numbers, Koppert, Bpost and Pokerstars are all healthy so it is all systems go.
After failing to cause a further selection at the third to last cobbled climb, Bpost send Niels Albert
to the front.
This does have the desired effect of reducing things down further with Broers, Vansummeren, Maes, Vanspeybrouck, Albert and Polanc making a selection of just 17 riders.
Hanging on the coattails of this superb teamwork by Bpost are: Veelers, Langeveld, Taillefour Geslin, Van Impe, Nolf Van Wyk, Blythe Velits, Boom
and Arnaud Coyot
Just missing this move is Kluge and Ingels of Pokerstars who work hard and get up to the 17 with Rast, Eichler and Saramotins of Trilux and another Bpost man Dilier. Team leaders Damien Gaudin
and Christian Knees
are further back and with no teammates are struggling to get back.
Boosted by his returning three teammates Trilux's Coyot hits the front on the last cobbled climb realising perhaps that he alone needs to reduce the Bpost presence.
His move does put one of the favourites in trouble as the six man break is caught a quick head count see's Nolf missing. Pokerstars' newly purchased cobbled leader continues to struggle then, dropping back to help is Roger Kluge as the green team are left with just Geslin and Van Impe.
Bpost mass on the front of the now front 19, they have five of those riders (Vansummeren, Broers, Albert, Vanspeybrouk and Maes). They do have some problems however in sprinters Veelers (Koppert) and Blythe (Rapha Condor) still here with danger men Boom (Rothaus) and Coyot (Trilux).
As Bpost try to work out their options, Blythe having lost Van Wyk but gained Berhane feels it's time to make his ability on the cobbled stuff show as he hits the front on the final sector.
Feeling the pack stretched, Bpost make their mind up and it is Maes who attacks as the cobbles end.
Eyes turn to Koppert who have three riders here (Veelers, Taillefour and Langeveld), but rather than pace the group back to Maes they attack through Langeveld.
Albert and Vanspeybrouck are onto this as quick as a flash also responding is Lars Boom who is showing some untapped ability for this type of classic today. Nothing from Coyot or Blythe or the Pokerstars riders who now have to chase the five riders who have attacked clear.
The five riders have joined up, up front Bpost will be happy they are currently clear of the better sprinters. With 15km to go the gap is 40 seconds and under the 10km banner it is up to a minute.
Blythe can see yet another cobbled classic slipping away and launches a desperate late attack in the last 10km.
It is to no avail as Blythe is caught by the Pokerstars and Coyot combination. Up front with Boom and Langeveld deciding to take their chances with the Bpost trio who in turn seem content to take these two Dutchmen with them to the finish. What could the Belgian team's plans be for the finish?
Rather surprisingly Pieter Vanspeybrouck Gent Wegulum runner up decides to lead out with Langeveld, Maes, Boom and Albert following in that order. Albert rather strangely doing his own thing on the right hand side of the road.
So it is either a Vanspeybrouck special burning everyone off his wheel or there is confidence in Maes having the strength to outsprint the other two. Vanspeybrouck shows he will not be burning anyone off his wheel as Maes comes round.
Boom is fixed to his wheel and Langeveld is taking an age to round Vanspeybrouck it is looking like it with be Maes or Boom.
Maes can feel the weight of team expectation behind him but the big presence of Boom is coming at him. He looks down to the road for some extra power.
Maes is fading within sight of the line.
Boom wins, a sensational victory for Rothaus who have stunned everyone with some very strong cobbled performances.
A second Dutchman makes the podium with Langeveld capping off a fairly successful race for Koppert. Vanspeybrouck and Albert take 4th and 5th, these two remember won ALL the cobbled Ctour classics last year.
But Bpost at least have had three riders in the top five, Pokerstars will be will be surprised that their cobbled MVP is Van Impe who wins the sprint for 6th ahead of Coyot, Broers, Veelers, Blythe, Vansummeren and Geslin.
Taillefour was dropped before the finish with a number of other riders forming a large group coasting into the finish some time later. Bpost will have to be content with a sizable points haul of having five riders in the top 11. But they have sadly been unable to take a win in one of the trio of Belgian cobbled classics, which is a bit of a shock.
