Tom Van Asbroeck wins Binche-Chimay-Binche

Tom Van Asbroeck (Israel Cycling Academy) claimed victory in Binche-Chimay-Binche after he edged out Oliver Naesen (AG2R La Mondiale) by millimetres in a group sprint on the rain-soaked cobbles of the Grand Place in Binche.

The Belgian endured a short wait for the race commissaires to consult the photo finish before he was confirmed as race winner, though Naesen had already offered his congratulations on crossing the finish line as the winner of the Mémorial Frank Vandenbroucke.

Jos van Emden (Jumbo-Visma) took third place after leading out the sprint on behalf of his teammate Tim Roosen, who was unable to come around and had to settle for fourth. Jens Keukeleire (Lotto Souda) came home in fifth ahead of Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo).

"It was a real photo finish," said Van Asbroeck, who drew on his experience of finishing third on the same finale in Binche in 2015, when Ramon Sinkeldam emerged victorious.

"I know I wanted to be on the left-hand side. I knew the sprint from when Sinkeldam won, so I tried to do the same thing and it worked out perfectly. It was very close with Oli [Naesen] in the end."

It was the fourth victory of Van Asbroeck's career and his first since leaving EF Education First for Israel Cycling Academy at the beginning of this season. His last win came in LottoNL-Jumbo colours at the Tour du Poitou Charentes in 2016.

"I'm very happy. It's my first win of the season, and I'm delighted to end my year like that," said Van Asbroeck, who is also set to line out at Paris-Bourges and Paris-Tours later this week.

A group of 17 riders disputed the honours on a sodden day in Wallonia, with Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ), Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo) and Florian Sénéchal (Deceuninck-QuickStep) among those bridging across to Van Asbroeck, Naesen and the earlier escapees on the final lap of the finishing circuit.

Victor Campenaerts (Lotto Soudal) made a bold solo bid for victory on the last lap, but he was pegged back with a little under 6km to go. Küng, Stuyven and Sénéchal were all prominent in forcing the pace on the uphill stretch of cobbles in the final kilometre, but they were unable to forge clear as Van Emden looked to set up Roosen for the sprint.

Naesen came from a long way back in the chaotic sprint, but Van Asbroeck timed his effort well along the barriers. They both dived for the line at the same time and, by the narrowest of margins, victory fell to Van Asbroeck.

How it unfolded

Low clouds and steady drizzle greeted the peloton at the start in Binche, where the late Frank Vandebroucke was remembered in the week of the tenth anniversary of his tragically premature death.

The opening segment of the parcours brought the race to Chimay, and a group of four riders had established a lead over the peloton by the time they reached the home of the eponymous beer and Trappist monastery. Conor Dunne (Israel Cycling Academy), Lasse Norman Hansen (Corendon-Circus), Nils Politt (Katusha-Alpecin) and Gianni Marchand (Cibel) built up a buffer just shy of 4 minutes over the bunch before Groupama-FDJ began to claw them back on behalf of Arnaud Démare.

The four leaders were caught as the race reached the finishing circuit around Binche, and a new break formed on the first of five laps. Pieter Serry (Deceuninck-QuickStep), Dries De Bondt (Corendon-Circus) and Jenthe Biermans (Katusha-Alpecin) broke away with a little under 60km to go, and they were soon joined by Taco van der Hoorn (Jumbo-Visma), Oliver Naesen (AG2R La Mondiale), Victor Campenaerts (Lotto Soudal), Tom Van Asbroeck (Israel Cycling Academy), Stan Dewulf (Lotto Soudal), Bert Van Lerberghe (Cofidis), Edward Theuns (Trek-Segafredo), Kevin Geniets (Groupama-FDJ) and Andrea Pasqualon (Wanty-Groupe Gobert).

That dozen had a lead of a minute with two laps remaining, though a notable cameo from Niki Terpstra, whose Direct Energie team had missed the move, saw their lead drop steadily on the approach to the bell.

Out in front, De Bondt piled on the pressure on the uphill stretch of cobbles at Pépinière for the penultimate, dropping Serry and Van Lerberghe from the break in the process. Behind, meanwhile, Küng accelerated forcefully from the main peloton, bringing Stuyven, Sénéchal, Timo Roosen (Jumbo-Visma), Jos van Emden (Jumbo-Visma), Alan Riou (Arkea-Samsic), Jens Keukeleire (Lotto Soudal) and Damien Touze (Cofidis) with him.

Just after taking the bell, Campenaerts launched a forceful attack, building up a lead of 25 seconds over the chasers, but his solo effort was doomed once the Küng group merged with Naesen et al. and they duly clawed back the Hour Record holder with a little over 5km to go.

Sénéchal, Küng, Dewulf and Van der Hoorn briefly threatened to drift clear on the run-in, but Theuns managed to pin them back on behalf of Stuyven. Jumbo-Visma had strength in numbers as the leaders clattered across the cobbles in Binche, but they were unable to use them to their advantage as Van Asbroeck had the staying power in the sprint to claim victory.

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Results
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Tom Van Asbroeck (Bel) Israel Cycling Academy 4:32:37
2Oliver Naesen (Bel) Ag2r la Mondiale
3Jos Van Emden (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
4Timo Roosen (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
5Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Lotto Soudal
6Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek-Segafredo
7Florian Senechal (Fra) Deceuninck - Quick-Step
8Damien Touze (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
9Stefan Kung (Swi) Groupama-Fdj
10Jenthe Biermans (Bel) Team Katusha Alpecin
11Dries De Bondt (Bel) Corendon-Circus
12Kevin Geniets (Lux) Groupama-Fdj
13Stan Dewulf (Bel) Lotto Soudal
14Alan Riou (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic
15Andrea Pasqualon (Ita) Wanty-Gobert Cycling Team
16Taco Van der Hoorn (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:00:19
17Victor Campenaerts (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:00:29
18Edward Theuns (Bel) Trek-Segafredo 0:00:34
19Timothy Dupont (Bel) Wanty-Gobert Cycling Team 0:01:23
20Tim Merlier (Bel) Corendon-Circus 0:01:24
21Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
22Arnaud Demare (Fra) Groupama-Fdj
23Hugo Hofstetter (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
24Roy Jans (Bel) Corendon-Circus
25Piet Allegaert (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
26Lionel Taminiaux (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles
27Nikolas Maes (Bel) Lotto Soudal
28Clement Russo (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic
29Mikkel Froelich Honore (Den) Deceuninck - Quick-Step
30Baptiste Planckaert (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles
31Alexander Krieger (Ger) Leopard pro Cycling
32Jesper Asselman (Ned) Roompot-Charles
33Silvan Dillier (Swi) Ag2r la Mondiale
34Quentin Jauregui (Fra) Ag2r la Mondiale
35Glenn Debruyne (Bel) Cibel
36Ludwig De Winter (Bel) Wanty-Gobert Cycling Team
37Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Groupama-Fdj
38Reto Hollenstein (Swi) Team Katusha Alpecin
39Elmar Reinders (Ned) Roompot-Charles
40Xandro Meurisse (Bel) Wanty-Gobert Cycling Team
41Petr Vakoc (Cze) Deceuninck - Quick-Step
42Tuur Deprez (Bel) Cibel
43Bagdonas Gediminas (Ltu) Ag2r la Mondiale
44Filip Maciejuk (Pol) Leopard pro Cycling
45Yves Coolen (Bel) Beat Cycling Club
46Alex Mengoulas (Ned) Beat Cycling Club
47Dmitrii Strakhov (Rus) Team Katusha Alpecin 0:01:35
48Maarten Wynants (Bel) Team Jumbo-Visma
49Senne Leysen (Bel) Roompot-Charles
50Adrien Petit (Fra) Total Direct Energie 0:01:41
51Connor Swift (GBr) Team Arkea-Samsic 0:01:47
52Otto Vergaerde (Bel) Corendon-Circus 0:01:55
53Jelle Wallays (Bel) Lotto Soudal
54Jens Debusschere (Bel) Team Katusha Alpecin
55Lawrence Naesen (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:01:57
56Bert Van Lerberghe (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:02:05
57Thomas Sprengers (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
58Lasse Norman Hansen (Den) Corendon-Circus
59Jerome Baugnies (Bel) Wanty-Gobert Cycling Team 0:02:07
60Pierre Luc Perichon (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:02:11
61Oscar Riesebeek (Ned) Roompot-Charles
62Paul Martens (Ger) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:02:15
63Julien Duval (Fra) Ag2r la Mondiale 0:02:23
64Marco Mathis (Ger) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:03:12
65Pieter Serry (Bel) Deceuninck - Quick-Step 0:05:40
66Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Groupama-Fdj
67Tim Declercq (Bel) Deceuninck - Quick-Step 0:05:44
68Niki Terpstra (Ned) Total Direct Energie
69Dimitri Claeys (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:05:57
70Franklin Six (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles 0:06:00
71Nils Politt (Ger) Team Katusha Alpecin 0:06:25
72Aksel Nemmela (Est) Wallonie Bruxelles 0:08:00
73Colin Heiderscheid (Lux) Leopard pro Cycling
74Gaetan Pons (Lux) Leopard pro Cycling
75Anthony Jullien (Fra) Ag2r la Mondiale
76Kevyn Ista (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles
77Florentin Lecamus Lambert (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic 0:08:10
78Jonas Van Genechten (Bel) Vital Concept-b&b Hotels
79Jack Burke (Can) Leopard pro Cycling 0:09:35
80Rudy Barbier (Fra) Israel Cycling Academy 0:09:57
81Enzo Bernard (Fra) Total Direct Energie
DNFDanny Van Poppel (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
DNFStijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Ag2r la Mondiale
DNFFumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Trek-Segafredo
DNFAlex Kirsch (Lux) Trek-Segafredo
DNFRyan Mullen (Irl) Trek-Segafredo
DNFKoen De Kort (Ned) Trek-Segafredo
DNFNicolas Debeaumarche (Fra) Trek-Segafredo
DNFIljo Keisse (Bel) Deceuninck - Quick-Step
DNFYves Lampaert (Bel) Deceuninck - Quick-Step
DNFMickael Delage (Fra) Groupama-Fdj
DNFAlexys Brunel (Fra) Groupama-Fdj
DNFAlex Dowsett (GBr) Team Katusha Alpecin
DNFHarry Tanfield (GBr) Team Katusha Alpecin
DNFBrian Van Goethem (Ned) Lotto Soudal
DNFMaxime Jarnet (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic
DNFRobert Thomas Wagner (Ger) Team Arkea-Samsic
DNFZico Waeytens (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
DNFJonas Rickaert (Bel) Corendon-Circus
DNFPhilipp Walsleben (Ger) Corendon-Circus
DNFHamish Schreurs (NZl) Israel Cycling Academy
DNFClément Carisey (Fra) Israel Cycling Academy
DNFKrists Neilands (Lat) Israel Cycling Academy
DNFConor Dunne (Irl) Israel Cycling Academy
DNFGuy Sagiv (Isr) Israel Cycling Academy
DNFRomain Cardis (Fra) Total Direct Energie
DNFPim Ligthart (Ned) Total Direct Energie
DNFDamien Gaudin (Fra) Total Direct Energie
DNFAnthony Turgis (Fra) Total Direct Energie
DNFMaurits Lammertink (Ned) Roompot-Charles
DNFStijn Steels (Bel) Roompot-Charles
DNFJustin Timmermans (Ned) Roompot-Charles
DNFPreben Van Hecke (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
DNFKevin Deltombe (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
DNFEdward Planckaert (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
DNFAaron Van Poucke (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
DNFAaron Verwilst (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
DNFYoann Bagot (Fra) Vital Concept-b&b Hotels
DNFAdrien Garel (Fra) Vital Concept-b&b Hotels
DNFSteven Lammertink (Ned) Vital Concept-b&b Hotels
DNFJeremy Lecroq (Fra) Vital Concept-b&b Hotels
DNFJustin Mottier (Fra) Vital Concept-b&b Hotels
DNFDavid Riviere (Fra) Vital Concept-b&b Hotels
DNFTom Devriendt (Bel) Wanty-Gobert Cycling Team
DNFAime De Gendt (Bel) Wanty-Gobert Cycling Team
DNFEmils Liepins (Lat) Wallonie Bruxelles
DNFDimitri Peyskens (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles
DNFMartijn Budding (Ned) Beat Cycling Club
DNFPiotr Havik (Ned) Beat Cycling Club
DNFAdam Lewis (GBr) Beat Cycling Club
DNFGuillaume Seye (Bel) Beat Cycling Club
DNFMichiel Dieleman (Bel) Cibel
DNFJeroen Eyskens (Bel) Cibel
DNFGianni Marchand (Bel) Cibel
DNFJacob Relaes (Bel) Cibel
DNFFabian Lienhard (Swi) Iam Excelsior
DNFDylan Page (Swi) Iam Excelsior
DNFSimon Pellaud (Swi) Iam Excelsior
DNFAnthony Rappo (Swi) Iam Excelsior
DNFMartin Schoeppi (Swi) Iam Excelsior
DNFCorey Davis (USA) Iam Excelsior
DNFSzymon Rekita (Pol) Leopard pro Cycling
DNFMario Spengler (Swi) Leopard pro Cycling
DNSDaan Hoeyberghs (Bel) Beat Cycling Club

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