Last race of the month, let’s see what cobbler still has some juice in his legs after a lot of tough cobbled races lately.
The riders who were at Geraardsbergen – Bosberg (C2HC) earlier this month will definitely remember this climb. We have a leading group of twenty-one with 130 km to go. The names are Ballerini and Videika, (Aker), Nareklishvili (Crabbe), Venturini (Binance), Bercz, Dakteris and Boeckmans (Carrefour), Keukeleire (Trans), Moricz (Philips), Stash (HelloFresh), Hesters (Aramco), Suter and Stocek (Carlsberg), Andersson and Dahlberg (Eddie Stobart), Van Poppel (Pas Normal), Sanikwathi, Oss and Oelerich (Strava), Hvideberg (Tafjord) and Verwilst (Lierse). The peloton, led by GCN, Minions, Bralirwa and UBS at 3’.
With +- 90 km to the finish line we pass another section of some tough cobbled sectors close after one another. Some domestiques from the favourite teams Lierse, UBS, Trans and also Crabbe are trying to get away from the peloton now, let’s see who is actually able to get a gap.
85 km to go and we have a leading group of eighteen. The original breakaway already cut in half, and the riders that have recently joined are Grand, Jansen, Naesen, Manakov, Declerq, Kolev and Taubel. At 1’25” we find Gamper, Thwaites, Taillefour and Schäppi, with a peloton of 52 riders an additional 45” behind. Four Crabbe riders and three from Carrefour up front now, can they work together and stay ahead of the peloton until the finish line?
The shitty weather is making this a real flandrien race. Sinkeldam attacked and tried to bridge the gap with the other chasers, but the peloton, led by GCN, Minions and Bralirwa, caught them all. The eighteen leaders still 1’40” ahead though. The gap had come down to 1’15”, but Nareklishvili giving everything for his leaders now with 57 km to the finish line!
The Minions and their domestiques now clearly working the hardest in the peloton, but they are not nearing very quickly! There is a simple reason for that though, as now we see Declerq doing the work in the leading group, where most of the early breakaway riders are getting dropped! 40 km left and the gap between the front of the race and the peloton now 1’15”!
But not everyone in the leading group likes the numerical advantage of home team Crabbe! Sanikwathi attacks on the cobbles and gets followed by Declerq, Dakteris and Venturini. Eleven chasers at 20” with 32 km and three cobbled sectors to go, while the peloton, now led by Lampaert, is another 50” behind.
Declerq feeling really good apparently, as he attacks with 25 km to go! He has five riders behind him at 20” ( Sanikwathi, Dakteris, Venturini, Kolev and Grand), and the peloton at exactly one minute of the lone leader. Radio Tour announcing movement in the peloton now though, as Blythe attacks!
Blythe gets joined by other favourite Stallaert, and they catch the five chasers in no time! Nevertheless, they look behind them and see Lander has done a great job of keeping up with them! Great domestique work by the Carslberg rider! Declerq now half a minute ahead of a peloton of 39 with 22 km and two cobbled sectors to come!
Vanspeybrouck is the next to attack, and Stallaert following him again! Ten other favourites are able to keep up with the pace, as Crabbe rider Declerq still has a gap of 25” with 18 km left!
The pace goes down a bit, allowing more riders to come back. Blythe with another attack then, as he uses the short penultimate cobbled sector to join Declerq at the head of the race with 15.5 km to go!
But the Brit is unable to stay ahead of a peloton of 25 with several domestiques! We are nearing the final ten km, as Anderberg attacks just before the final cobbled sector of the day! Spengler reacts with Zepuntke the first rider in his wheel!
But the attack leads nowhere and nobody else really trying to get away on the cobbles! Fourteen riders entering the final 6.5 km together now! Trentin arguably the most important rider missing in this group, whereas the best sprinters here should be Van Asbroeck, Daniel, Blythe and Stallaert!
The Philips sprinter seemed to be struggling, but his teammate David making it fifteen at the front must have given him an energy boost to be able to hold on! Three km left and we are getting very close to finding out who will win this year’s edition of Kuurne – Brussel – Kuurne!
One and a half km left! Nobody making a move, a sprint will have to decide the winner!
Spengler wants to surprise the sprinters with a long sprint on the left side! Van Asbroeck simply done at the back of the group, whereas Stallaert currently in second with 800 meters to go!
The Bralirwa rider in the lead with 500 meters left! Daniel coming on the left and Blythe through the middle, but Zepuntke and Van Keirsbulck also still believing in a podium!
200 meters to go and Blythe now into second!
But Stallaert holding on bravely, as there are only 100 meters to go!
And he does it again! Just as in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad the Bralirwa riders beats Blythe (2nd) and Daniel (3rd) in the sprint! CT rider Van Keirsbulck (4th) and Zepuntke (5th) complete the top-5, while the other riders in the leading group finish as follows: Vanmarcke (6th), Vanbilsen (7th), Anderberg (8th), Spengler (9th), Van Asbroeck (10th), Nolf (11th), Vanspeybrouck (12th), David (13th), Puccio (14th) and Bohli (15th). See you again next year!
