Kristoff wins Driedaagse De Panne opener in Zottegem

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Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) got back to his winning ways on the opening stage of the Driedaagse De Panne. The Norwegian powered home to his sixth victory of the season after a perfect delivery from his compatriot and teammate Sven Erik Bystrom. Jens Debusschere (Lotto-Soudal) faded after launching his sprint early but held on for second while Stijn Devolder (Trek Factory Racing) took third.

Kristoff was one of a group of six men that had broken free and held a slim advantage over the peloton. Katusha had numbers, with Bystrom also in the group, while Lotto-Soudal had three in the form of fastman Debusschere, Sean De Bie and Lars Bak. Stijn Devolder was the lone ranger of the group, hoping to upset the sprinters.

The group shared the work as they pulled out a gap of almost a minute on the larger Team Sky and Orica-GreenEdge-led peloton in the final 20 kilometres. However, it became evident that the onus would be on Katusha in the closing five kilometres. First year professional, Bystrom, did a valiant job dragging the whole group along, while Kristoff sat four riders back and saved his energy.

Bystrom finally peeled off under the flamme rouge, leaving De Bie to lead them into the sprint. Debusschere, who had been firmly sat at the tail end of the group, then made the first move. Kristoff jumped at the same time and soon passed the Belgian into the final, major, turn. Debusschere held onto Kristoff’s wheel but there was nothing to stop the Norwegian from taking victory.

“I saw that we had Sven in front, but I know that he doesn’t really have the best sprint so it was not perfect but he did a very good race,” Kristoff said. “Then I told the other guys to keep it close and I could bridge up on Berendries and I made it back to the first group and then we worked full gas all the way to the finish to keep the gap.

“I was not really sure because the Belgian champion is a fast guy and he was not pulling so I didn’t know how fresh he was so in the end I could take it quite clear… He went just as I wanted to go so we went at the same time, but I had a little bit more speed in the legs in the end so I could take him.”

Kristoff now holds a two-second lead over Debusschere in the overall classification. He has finished on the final podium before but remained coy on his chances this year. “It was not the plan this morning but we will see how it is after tomorrow and after the last day.”

How it happened

The day began with controversy about the wind for the second race running. While the gusts were not as strong as they had been two days prior at Gent-Wevelgem, the riders were cautious about a repeat performance. In the end, the organisers acquiesced and neutralised the opening 14.5 kilometres due to the narrow roads.

Unfortunately for Geert Steegmans (Trek Factory Racing) there was a repeat performance. The Belgian crashed in the early part of the stage, which resulted in a trip to the hospital. Fortunately for Steegmans, x-rays confirmed that he had not broken anything in the fall but had sustained a knee injury.

The tailwind at the start meant the peloton set off at a fair pace and it took some time for a breakaway to form. Seven men had a go but after 56 kilometres it was still gruppo compatto. It wasn’t until the peloton had tipped over the 100-kilometre mark that four men pulled out a gap on the group. Jen Debusschere (Lotto-Soudal), Jarl Salomein (Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise), Michael Reihs (Cult Energy Pro Cycling) and Nelson Oliviera (Lampre-Merida) were the lucky riders.

The four men were unable to build a substantial lead and were kept at close quarters to the peloton. Lars Bak (Lotto-Soudal) soon joined them and pulled clear of the other escapees with his teammate Debusschere. With just over 20 kilometres remaining, a group containing Kristoff jumped the gap and were able to make the definitive break from the peloton. The advantage rose to a maximum 44 seconds with Kristoff eventually crossing the line 32 seconds over the main group.

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