Devenyns says Voeckler was just too strong

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Dries Devenyns was in the small group in the Brabantse Pijl out of which Thomas Voeckler took off with 35km to go and take the win. It was a hard race in bad weather, the Omega Pharma-QuickStep rider said, but it gave him confidence for himself and his team in the upcoming Ardennes Classics.

“Voeckler was just too strong,” he said to nieuwsblad.be, explaining why there was no serious chase of the Frenchman. “He arrived about a minute and a half ahead of us.”

The riders also had to put up with heavy rain and even hail during the closing kilometers, making things even more difficult, especially on the cobblestones and “hellinge”.

Devenyns is now looking forward to the second half of the Classics season. “We will be stronger in Amsel than in previous years, especially when Chavanel and Terpstra come back. Too bad Tom [Boonen, ed.] won't start, because he boosts the level in the team. With him, we stick together more.”

Voeckler must now be considered a contender for the Amstel Gold Race and Liege-Bastogne-Liege, he said. “Not that he can beat Valverde in a sprint, but with a solo he can do it.”