Van Poppel wins final stage of Driedaagse van West Vlaanderen

Trek's Danny van Poppel scored his first victory of the season, winning the final stage of the Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen ahead of Kris Boeckmans (Lotto Soudal) and Michael Van Staeyen (Cofidis).

New Etixx-Quickstep recruit Yves Lampaert finished safely in the front peloton on the lumpy stage to secure the overall victory, the sprint classification and best young rider classification.

"We were in control the entire day, it was impressive," Lampaert said. "I'm really happy for the win. When you consider what we did over a three-day period, it was excellent. The team worked really well and I am proud to be able to finish their job.

"For me it's the first time I won a stage race. Last night I slept really well. I was confident in the team. But you never know what can happen in cycling and we we have respect for every rider and team. So today we were attentive and motivated. We did our best to win the race and I think this is a team victory more than just my victory. The team did so well and I want to thank them for supporting me. We are thrilled as a group, and can look to the next races with optimism and satisfaction with what we did here."

The overall was never secure for Lampaert, who came into the stage with an eight second lead over Katusha's Anton Vorobyev and faced a number of tough climbs mid-stage that included the steep ascent of the Kemmelberg.

The race stayed together until the first intermediate sprint, which was won by Tim Kerhof (Roompot). Then, seven riders formed a breakaway, with Europcar's Jimmy Engoulvent the biggest threat at 34 seconds on GC. He was joined by Louis Verhelst (Cofidis), Riccardo Stacchiotti (Nippo - Vini Fantini), Tim Kerkhof (Team Roompot), Jelle Wallays (Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise), Edwig Cammaerts (Veranclassic - Ekoi) and Stef Van Zummeren (Verandas Willems).

The seven riders gained four minutes on the bunch until they hit the series of bergs at kilometer 70. After climbing the Goberg, Rodeberg, Monteberg and Kemmelberg in 15 kilometers, their lead was halved, and attacks came from the peloton behind.

Once the main bunch settled down, the seven leaders extended their advantage to three minutes, but never got much more as the fight for the general classification was in the minds of Etixx, Katusha and Trek.

When the race reached the 11.5km finishing circuit, a flurry of attacks came, and combined with the aggressive field and the circuit, which included the Keiberg and Ruidenberg and the cobbled Fonteinstraat, the advantage of the breakaway fell quickly.

With 34km to go, the seven had been joined by an attack of 10 from the field, with more small groups bridging across over the course of the next 10km to make a 24-man group with two laps to go.

A furious chase from Trek brought Van Poppel back into contention for the stage win, and Jesse Sergent back to keep third overall, making a front peloton of 52 riders with the rest of the fractured peloton chasing at more than a minute behind.

“It was not easy to bring the break back, and on the local laps we could see [the breakway] the whole time and I said to some of the guys to wait, and not work too much, and just let Stijn [Devolder] pull,” Danny van Poppel said. “On the last lap the GC teams helped and we got them back. On the finale the guys did a great lead out, especially Boy [van Poppel] at the very end. This is a dream for two brothers! I am very happy!”

Lampaert was kept safely up front by his Etixx team, as were all of the riders in the top 10 on GC. Van Poppel moved up into the top 10 thanks to the time bonus on the line, slotting into sixth overall and knocking Canadian Hugo Houle (AG2R La Mondiale) out of the top 10.

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