Wellens wins Brabantse Pijl

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Tim Wellens (Lotto-Soudal) capped off an excellent performance from his team to win De Brabantse Pijl-La Flèche Brabançonne on Wednesday.

The Belgian attacked with just over 7.5km to go and held off the remnants of the peloton to win alone and ahead of last year’s winner Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain Merida) and Tiesj Benoot (Lotto Soudal).

As Wellens crossed the line he pointed one finger to the sky in memory of Michael Goolaerts, who tragically died at Sunday's Paris-Roubaix. A minute's silence was observed at the start of the race in Leuven, with all of Goolaets' teammates in attendance.

Lotto Soudal had been active throughout the second half of the race, and turned on the heat inside of the final 80 kilometres. First veteran rider Maxime Monfort laid down a rapid pace in order to bring back the early break, before Tosh Van der Sande linked up with Mitchelton-Scott's Jack Haig to create a dangerous move.

The pair remained out front until 12 kilometres remaining, with Jelle Vanendert picked up the baton for Lotto Soudal. The Belgian's acceleration helped forge the winning break, with Wellens attacking on a flat-stretch of road. Bahrain Merida tried to catch the Ruta del Sol winner but the 26-year-old's time trial skills flourished in their element as he quickly built up a 20-second lead.

The remaining riders from the break were caught on the final climb but Wellens remained clear and had plenty of time to compose himself before his muted, and respectful victory salute.

"There are four chances [in the Ardennes] and today was the first of the four, so I'm happy to win here. It's not the same level as the others, but it's a race in Belgium, it's very important for our team, and it's never easy to win, so I'm very happy," Wellens said at the finish.

"It was for Michael," he said with regard to his victory salute.

"I didn't want to celebrate, because everyone is thinking about him. I didn't know him personally, but it's very bad what happened."

Colbrelli crossed the line in second, narrowly edging out Benoot.

How it unfolded

Three days after Paris-Roubaix, the professional peloton gathered in Leuven for the 2018 edition of De Brabantse Pijl-La Flèche Brabançonne. The mood was sombre and still with the Veranda's Willems Crelan team leading the peloton in a minute of silence in memory of Michael Goolaerts, who had sadly died last weekend.

The Belgian team announced that they would race after consulting Goolaert's family. The jersey was present when the early break moved clear with Dries De Bondt (Veranda's Willems Crelan), joined by Calvin Watson (Aqua Blue Sport), Tyler Williams (Israel Cycling Academy), Michael Grosu (Nippo-Vini Fantini), Elmar Reinders (Roompot), Antoine Warnier (WB Aqua Protect Veranclassic), and Andrea Peron (Novo Nordisk).

The break enjoyed an advantage of over eight minutes before the bunch began to lead a chase, and with 80km remaining the gap had been reduced to just under three minutes.

Ahead of the peloton were three 23-kilometre laps with five climbs - Hagaard, Hertstraat, Holstheide, Ijskelderlaan, and Schavei – crammed into the parcours.

On the final climb of the first lap, Tosh van der Sande (Lotto Soudal) and Jack Haig (Mitchelton-Scott) accelerated from the peloton, before catching and passing the early break. Several riders attempted to make the juncture but the leading pair established a 30-second lead and held the majority of that advantage until the final circuit.

On the final charge up the Holstheide, and with van der Sande and Haig back in the bunch, Monfort raised the pace. This laid the groundwork for Vanendert and a group to move clear.

Wellens, who had been in the bunch for most of the race, was in the group, and with 7.8km to go the Belgian accelerated. There was a moment of hesitation, and despite a late chase, Wellens had more than enough of a lead to take the win.

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