Søren Wærenskjold (Uno-X Mobility) won the opening time trial at the Baloise Belgium Tour, and secured the event's first leader's jersey in Beringen.
The Norwegian time trial champion covered the 12km course in a winning time of 13:24, beating runner-up Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek) by two seconds and third-placed Rune Herregodts (Intermarché-Wanty) by 10 seconds.
Wærenskjold now leads the overall classification ahead of Vacek and Herregodts as the race heads into stage 2's 184km race from Merelbeke to Knokke-Heist on Thursday.
Daan Hoole (Lidl-Trek) set the fastest early time with a 13:42 on the 12km individual time trial in Beringen. His time lasted until Alex Aranburu (Movistar) put in a surprising ride to go a second quicker.
He, too, was eclipsed when Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek) came through much faster in 13:26.48.
The race was neutralised due to a medical emergency on the course, delaying the start of the rest of the field.
When racing resumed, Søren Wærenskjold (Uno-X) powered to the fastest time two seconds faster, a winning time that saw him take the stage and the overall race lead.
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Laura Weislo is a Cyclingnews veteran of 20 years. Having joined in 2006, Laura extensively covered the Operacion Puerto doping scandal, the years-long conflict between the UCI and the Tour de France organisers ASO over the creation of the WorldTour, and the downfall of Lance Armstrong and his lifetime ban for doping. As Managing Editor, Laura coordinates coverage for North American events and global news.
