Viviani wins Driedaagse De Panne

Quick-Step Floors continued their winning streak with Elia Viviani taking victory at the new-look Driedaagse De Panne. Viviani had a clear margin as he claimed the team’s sixth win this month and his fifth of the season.

Pascal Ackermann (Bora-Hansgrohe) was the only rider to get close to the Italian, finishing second as he thumped his handlebars in frustration. Jasper Philipsen of Hagens Berman Axeon took the final place on the podium.

Despite having two teammates to guide him, the win was not straightforward for Viviani. He had to thread his way through several riders after starting his sprint from around five places back, slotting himself through a few gaps that looked like they were quickly disappearing.

Veranda's Willems Crelan might contest that one of those gaps was not there as one of their riders had to sit up briefly as Viviani charged through. However, he Italian did get through and as they rounded the final, slight curve, he had just Ackerman in front of him. With just a few metres remaining, Viviani moved out into the wind for the first time, charging to the line with more than a bike’s length advantage over the chasing German.

“Personally, it’s the first in Europe this year. I’ve won in Australia and in the Emirates and I’ve had some placings in Paris-Nice, but the condition is really good,” Viviani said after his victory. “I really want to end the first part of my season really well and after that I will think about the Giro. Winning in Belgium with a Belgian team is always beautiful, and it’s a good start to the next few important weeks in Belgium for this team, and we will try to continue in this way.”

How it unfolded

Despite the name, the Driedaagse De Panne was just one day after losing its pre-Tour of Flanders slot to Dwars door Vlaanderen. With E3 Harelbeke this Friday, it has turned into a one-day affair with a new, sprinter-friendly route to go with it. The 202.4km route set off from Bruges’ Grote Markt on Wednesday morning, taking a meandering route around Flanders, along the French border and into De Panne with three circuits around the seaside town.

It took more than 20 kilometres for the day’s breakaway to form, with six riders swiftly gaining two minutes on the bunch behind. Conor Dunne (Aqua Blue Sport), an ever-present feature of breakaways this season, went clear alongside David Boucher and Ylber Saer (both Terteletto-Isorex-SH), Sean Bennett (Hagens Berman Axeon), Tanner Putt (UnitedHealthcare) and Brian van Goethem (Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij).

The gap had gone out to six minutes by the time the riders hit the series of five climbs after 80 kilometres of racing. A brief attack from Luke Durbridge (Mitchelton-Scott) and Nikolas Maes (Lotto Soudal) on the Kemmelberg didn’t stick but helped cut the advantage to the leaders, and it would continue to go down quickly over the coming kilometres. The large part of the chase was taken on by Quick-Step Floors with Remi Cavanga doing a big shift on the front.

With just over 70 kilometres to go, echelons began to form as crosswinds hit the peloton on a long, exposed stretch of road. A surge from Quick-Step and Lotto Soudal saw the bunch split in two but a lack of cooperation meant that it wouldn’t last long and the group eventually came back together 30 kilometres later. Quick-Step and Lotto Soudal, joined by Bora-Hansgrohe, turned up the pressure dial once again, however, and broke the bunch permanently this time.

A reduced peloton of 60 riders took back the six escapees with 15-kilometres to go. From there, it would be a battle between the sprinters’ teams as the riders negotiated the tram tracks around De Panne. Veranda's Willems Crelan sought to set the pace inside the final kilometre, but Quick-Step Floors were still there in numbers and nothing could stop Viviani when he launched his sprint. It is the Belgian team’s 17th victory of the 2018 season.

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