Dwars door Vlaanderen: Lampaert parlays Quick-Step tactics to victory
Gilbert makes it a 1-2 for Belgian team
Local boy Yves Lampaert capitalised on some top tactical work by Quick-Step Floors to take a solo victory at Dwars door Vlaanderen. Philippe Gilbert made it a double day of glory for the Belgian team, sprinting to second place from the three-man chasing group. Alexey Lutsenko (Astana) rounded off the podium, beating Luke Durbridge (Orica-Scott) into third place.
"For me it’s a dream that came true. It’s not that far from my home and I did a lot of recons to do this race," Lampaert said. "To win, for me it’s a fantastic gift that I can give to the team and thanks to everybody."
Quick-Step had two cards to play in the finale and found themselves with a royal flush when it came down to the crunch. Lampaert laid the heavy groundwork on the final climbs before an attack from Gilbert on the Paterberg forced the race-winning split. Lampaert was one of the only riders who had the legs to follow Gilbert, along with Lutsenko and Durbridge.
The quartet worked well together, pulling out a gap of over a minute, which was helped by a lack of co-operation behind. Even with 10 kilometres remaining, it became clear that the winner of the race would come from the four out front. They worked well together until Gilbert finally broke ranks on the final stretch of cobbles.
No sooner was Gilbert brought back than Lampaert made his own move. Lampaert, who missed most of the Classics last season after injuring his Achilles when his girlfriend accidentally ran into him with a shopping trolley, had to fight hard to build the gap but he knew the roads and eventually won by 37 seconds over his teammate.
"For me it's a dream that came true. It's not that far from my home and I did a lot of recons to do this race. To win, for me it's a fantastic gift that I can give to the team and thanks to everybody," Lampaert said after his win.
How it happened
There was a somber start to the day as the riders and public honoured the victims of last year's terror attack in Brussels with a minute's silence. The attacks happened on the eve of last year's race and provided the lingering concern would mark the entire Classics programme in Belgium. This year, the general atmosphere, while reflective, was more buoyant than that of 12 months ago.
The racing got underway with clear skies above and the riders were ready to get down to business quickly. Right from the get-go, riders were trying to break free of the peloton as a barrage of moves came off the front. After more than 30 kilometres of racing, a solid break formed with Kenneth Van Bilsen (Cofidis, Solutions Credits), Ivan Savitsky (Gazprom - Rusvelo), Lawrence Naesen (WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect), Benjamin Perry (Israel Cycling Academy), Michael Goolaerts (Veranda's Willems Crelan), Jon Ander Insausti (Bahrain-Merida).
With Quick-Step Floors happy to control things on the front, they allowed the six men a healthy advantage of almost six minutes at one stage, before bringing it down to much closer to five minutes. That didn't last long though and Quick-Step upped the pace as they approached the first of 12 climbs the Nieuwe Kwaremont. By that point, only three minutes separated the escapees from the charging peloton.
While the leaders did their best to hold off the inevitable, the battle for Belgian supremacy began behind. Lotto Soudal's former winner Jelle Wallays, or Speedy Wally as he's affectionately known by his fans, punched a hole in the air by charging up the second climb of the day, the Kattenberg. He never got too far ahead of the peloton but the pressure brought the gap down to 1:33, having been at just over two minutes only moments before.
Sensing the catch was not too far away, Van Bilsen tried a number of fruitless moves but he could do nothing to halt the tide of the peloton washing over them. After Wallays did some damage, Belgian champion Philippe Gilbert (Quick-Step Floors). Gilbert's move killed two birds with one stone by splitting the peloton and all but ending the day of the escapees.
Joining Gilbert in his band of brothers were Wallays, Yves Lampaert (Quick-Step Floors), Loic Vliegen, Dylan Teuns (BMC), Mat Hayman, Luke Durbridge (Orica-Scott), Mike Teunissen (Sunweb), Dylan Groenewegen, Amund Jansen (LottoNl-Jumbo), Matti Breschel, Alexey Lutsenko (Astana), Marco Marcato (UAE Team Emirates), Lukas Postlberger (Bora-Hansgrohe), Cyril Lemoine (Cofidis).
Notable absences from that move were Arnaud Demare (FDJ), Sep Vanmarcke (Cannondale-Drapac) and John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo). Edward Theuns (Trek-Segafredo) accelerated hard in front of the peloton on the Taaienberg, only to find some watchdogs neutralising his efforts. Despite some work from Bahrain-Merida, the gap grew up to 45 seconds when approaching the Oude Kwaremont. Lutsenko and Lampaert were setting the pace on the long cobbled climb.
The Paterberg turned out to be Quick-Step Floors' battleground. In front, Lampaert led the first part of the climb before teammate Gilbert accelerated on the final section of the short but steep cobbled climb. Durbridge, Lutsenko and Lampaert were the only riders who managed to keep up with the Belgian champion.
Back in the peloton, there was another attack featuring Stybar and Terpstra. The other teams were left without an answer. Terpstra and Lampaert bridged up with the nine remaining riders of the former lead group. Further back, a group of 15 riders was coming closer. On the tenth climb of the day, the Vossenhol climb, the two chase groups came together and formed a peloton of 26 riders. The four leaders were co-operating perfectly and kept the first peloton at 45 seconds on the Vossenhol climb.
With little co-operation in the chasing bunch, the four leaders were allowed to extend and hold their lead. Quick-Step had the upper hand with two in the key move, and Gilbert and Lampaert did their best to soften up the other escapees. Gilbert struck first with a move on the final stretch of cobbles, Herlegemstraat. He was brought back but Lampaert was quick to react and made his own move soon after.
As Gilbert sat on the back, Durbridge and Lutsenko tried to catch the young Belgian. It looked like they might just do it but they appeared to give up when another injection of pace from Lampaert increased the distance.
Quick-Step almost always turns up to a race with plenty of options, but often they fail to convert that into victory. On this occasion, it the team managed to play it spot on and Lampaert ground out his first individual win since the 2015 season.
"Dit is nu hoe het geluk van een koersmens eruit ziet". @yveslampaert wint @DwarsdrVlaander! #DDV pic.twitter.com/aN8JR7c1wc
Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Yves Lampaert (Bel) Quick-Step Floors | 4:47:26 |
2 | Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Quick-Step Floors | 0:00:39 |
3 | Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | |
4 | Luke Durbridge (Aus) Orica-Scott | |
5 | Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo | 0:01:03 |
6 | Oliver Naesen (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale | |
7 | Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
8 | Dylan Van Baarle (Ned) Cannondale-Drapac | |
9 | Mitch Docker (Aus) Orica-Scott | |
10 | Florian Senechal (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
11 | Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Soudal | |
12 | Matti Breschel (Den) Astana Pro Team | |
13 | Maxime Vantomme (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect | |
14 | Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) BMC Racing Team | |
15 | Lukas Pöstlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
16 | Mike Teunissen (Ned) Team Sunweb | |
17 | Stefan Küng (Swi) BMC Racing Team | |
18 | Baptiste Planckaert (Bel) Katusha-Alpecin | |
19 | Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Cannondale-Drapac | |
20 | Marco Marcato (Ita) UAE Team Emirates | |
21 | Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Quick-Step Floors | |
22 | Maarten Wynants (Bel) Team LottoNl-Jumbo | |
23 | Loïc Vliegen (Bel) BMC Racing Team | |
24 | Reto Hollenstein (Swi) Katusha-Alpecin | |
25 | Niki Terpstra (Ned) Quick-Step Floors | 0:01:08 |
26 | Gijs Van Hoecke (Bel) Team LottNl-Jumbo | |
27 | Mathew Hayman (Aus) Orica-Scott | |
28 | Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) Cannondale-Drapac | 0:01:35 |
29 | Jelle Wallays (Bel) Lotto Soudal | 0:01:51 |
30 | Michael Matthews (Aus) Team Sunweb | 0:01:54 |
31 | Edward Theuns (Bel) Trek-Segafredo | |
32 | Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
33 | Pieter Vanspeybrouck (Bel) Wanty - Groupe Gobert | |
34 | Zakkari Dempster (Aus) Israel Cycling Academy | |
35 | Tom Van Asbroeck (Bel) Cannondale-Drapac | |
36 | Raymond Kreder (Ned) Roompot - Nederlandse Loterij | |
37 | Roy Jans (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect | |
38 | Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ | |
39 | Bryan Coquard (Fra) Direct Energie | |
40 | Bert Van Lerberghe (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen - Baloise | |
41 | Rudy Barbier (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
42 | Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) Wanty - Groupe Gobert | |
43 | Sacha Modolo (Ita) UAE Team Emirates | |
44 | Jasper De Buyst (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
45 | Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Team Sunweb | |
46 | Laurens De Vreese (Bel) Astana Pro Team | |
47 | Nikolas Maes (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
48 | Jasha Sütterlin (Ger) Movistar Team | |
49 | Christophe Laporte (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
50 | Yoann Offredo (Fra) Wanty - Groupe Gobert | |
51 | Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ | |
52 | Nils Politt (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin | |
53 | Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bahrain-Merida | |
54 | Gediminas Bagdonas (Ltu) AG2R La Mondiale | |
55 | Pim Ligthart (Ned) Roompot - Nederlandse Loterij | |
56 | Luka Pibernik (Slo) Bahrain-Merida | |
57 | Iljo Keisse (Bel) Quick-Step Floors | |
58 | Roger Kluge (Ger) Orica-Scott | |
59 | Frederik Backaert (Bel) Wanty - Groupe Gobert | |
60 | Kenneth Van Rooy (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen - Baloise | |
61 | Maxime Farazijn (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen - Baloise | |
62 | Hugo Houle (Can) AG2R La Mondiale | |
63 | Truls Korsaeth (Nor) Astana Pro Team | |
64 | Marko Kump (Slo) UAE Team Emirates | |
65 | Huub Duijn (Ned) Veranda's Willems Crelan | |
66 | Kevyn Ista (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect | |
67 | Martin Elmiger (Swi) BMC Racing Team | |
68 | Alexandre Pichot (Fra) Direct Energie | |
69 | Bert De Backer (Bel) Team Sunweb | |
70 | Stijn Devolder (Bel) Veranda's Willems Crelan | |
71 | Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
72 | Adrien Petit (Fra) Direct Energie | |
73 | Preben Van Hecke (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen - Baloise | |
74 | Christopher Juul Jensen (Den) Orica-Scott | |
75 | Edward Planckaert (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen - Baloise | |
76 | Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor) UAE Team Emirates | |
77 | Oscar Gatto (Ita) Astana Pro Team | |
78 | Jens Debusschere (Bel) Lotto Soudal | 0:02:02 |
79 | Lars Boom (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo | |
80 | Alberto Bettiol (Ita) Cannondale-Drapac | |
81 | Fabio Felline (Ita) Trek-Segafredo | |
82 | Dylan Teuns (Bel) BMC Racing Team | |
83 | Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Orica-Scott | |
84 | Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
85 | Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Direct Energie | |
86 | Dries Devenyns (Bel) Quick-Step Floors | |
87 | Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | |
88 | Dimitri Claeys (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
89 | Borut Bozic (Slo) Bahrain-Merida | |
90 | Fernando Gaviria (Col) Quick-Step Floors | |
91 | Aleksejs Saramotins (Lat) Bora-Hansgrohe | 0:02:08 |
92 | Simone Consonni (Ita) UAE Team Emirates | |
93 | Rüdiger Selig (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe | 0:02:13 |
94 | Ivan Garcia (Spa) Bahrain-Merida | 0:04:32 |
95 | Twan Castelijns (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo | |
96 | Marco Coledan (Ita) Trek-Segafredo | |
97 | Francisco Ventoso (Spa) BMC Racing Team | |
98 | Jimmy Turgis (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
99 | Mads Würtz Schmidt (Den) Katusha-Alpecin | |
100 | Igor Boev (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo | |
101 | Guillaume Boivin (Can) Israel Cycling Academy | |
102 | Dennis Van Winden (Ned) Israel Cycling Academy | |
103 | Carlos Barbero (Spa) Movistar Team | |
104 | Aleksei Tcatevich (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo | |
105 | Kenneth Vanbilsen (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
106 | Jorge Arcas Peña (Spa) Movistar Team | |
107 | Christoph Pfingsten (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
108 | Nuno Bico (Por) Movistar Team | |
109 | Taco Van Der Hoorn (Ned) Roompot - Nederlandse Loterij | |
110 | Loic Chetout (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
111 | Dries De Bondt (Bel) Veranda's Willems Crelan | |
112 | Ryan Mullen (Irl) Cannondale-Drapac | |
113 | Juraj Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
114 | Simone Antonini (Ita) Wanty - Groupe Gobert | |
115 | Ryan Anderson (Can) Direct Energie | |
116 | Nans Peters (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
117 | Romain Cardis (Fra) Direct Energie | |
118 | Jenthe Biermans (Bel) Katusha-Alpecin | |
119 | Mickael Delage (Fra) FDJ | |
120 | Olivier Le Gac (Fra) FDJ | |
121 | Ruslan Tleubayev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | |
122 | Krists Neilands (Lat) Israel Cycling Academy | |
123 | Mihkel Räim (Est) Israel Cycling Academy | |
124 | Daniel Turek (Cze) Israel Cycling Academy | |
125 | Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Soudal | |
126 | Alex Kirsch (Lux) WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect | |
127 | Julien Stassen (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect | |
128 | Alexander Porsev (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo | |
129 | Boy van Poppel (Ned) Trek-Segafredo | |
130 | Wesley Kreder (Ned) Wanty - Groupe Gobert | |
131 | Carlos Betancur (Col) Movistar Team | |
132 | Thomas Scully (NZl) Cannondale-Drapac | |
133 | Timo Roosen (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo | |
134 | Héctor Carretero (Spa) Movistar Team | |
135 | Jérôme Baugnies (Bel) Wanty - Groupe Gobert | |
136 | Coen Vermeltfoort (Ned) Roompot - Nederlandse Loterij | |
137 | Tom Stamsnijder (Ned) Team Sunweb | |
138 | Antonio Pedrero (Spa) Movistar Team | 0:06:41 |
139 | Federico Zurlo (Ita) UAE Team Emirates | |
140 | Amund Grondahl Jansen (Nor) Team LottoNl-Jumbo | 0:07:53 |
141 | Floris Gerts (Ned) BMC Racing Team | 0:08:44 |
142 | Andrea Guardini (Ita) UAE Team Emirates | |
143 | Michaël Van Staeyen (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
144 | Tim Declercq (Bel) Quick-Step Floors | |
145 | Robert Wagner (Ger) Team LottoNl-Jumbo | |
146 | Sander Cordeel (Bel) Veranda's Willems Crelan | |
147 | Tom Bohli (Swi) BMC Racing Team | |
148 | Kevin Deltombe (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen - Baloise | |
149 | Riccardo Minali (Ita) Astana Pro Team | |
150 | Mads Pedersen (Den) Trek-Segafredo | |
151 | Brian Van Goethem (Ned) Roompot - Nederlandse Loterij | |
152 | Oliviero Troia (Ita) UAE Team Emirates | |
153 | Jonas Rickaert (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen - Baloise | |
154 | Zico Waeytens (Bel) Team Sunweb | |
155 | Pavel Brutt (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo | 0:10:21 |
156 | Yohann Gene (Fra) Direct Energie | |
157 | Nico Denz (Ger) AG2R La Mondiale | |
158 | Nikolay Trusov (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo | |
159 | Erik Baska (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
160 | Jesper Asselman (Ned) Roompot - Nederlandse Loterij | |
161 | Dayer Quintana (Col) Movistar Team | |
162 | Niccolo Bonifazio (Ita) Bahrain-Merida | |
DNF | Wouter Wippert (Ned) Cannondale-Drapac | |
DNF | Laurent Didier (Lux) Trek-Segafredo | |
DNF | Kiel Reijnen (USA) Trek-Segafredo | |
DNF | Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Trek-Segafredo | |
DNF | Caleb Ewan (Aus) Orica-Scott | |
DNF | Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Sunweb | |
DNF | Albert Timmer (Ned) Team Sunweb | |
DNF | Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) FDJ | |
DNF | Lorenzo Manzin (Fra) FDJ | |
DNF | Marc Fournier (Fra) FDJ | |
DNF | Marc Sarreau (Fra) FDJ | |
DNF | Julien Duval (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
DNF | Sondre Holst Enger (Nor) AG2R La Mondiale | |
DNF | Chun Kai Feng (Tpe) Bahrain-Merida | |
DNF | Ion Insausti (Spa) Bahrain-Merida | |
DNF | David Per (Slo) Bahrain-Merida | |
DNF | Viacheslav Kuznetsov (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin | |
DNF | Marco Mathis (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin | |
DNF | Rick Zabel (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin | |
DNF | Michal Kolár (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
DNF | Antoine Duchesne (Can) Direct Energie | |
DNF | Kevin Van Melsen (Bel) Wanty - Groupe Gobert | |
DNF | Stijn Steels (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen - Baloise | |
DNF | Sjoerd Van Ginneken (Ned) Roompot - Nederlandse Loterij | |
DNF | Timothy Dupont (Bel) Veranda's Willems Crelan | |
DNF | Michael Goolaerts (Bel) Veranda's Willems Crelan | |
DNF | Aidis Kruopis (Ltu) Veranda's Willems Crelan | |
DNF | Elias Van Breussegem (Bel) Veranda's Willems Crelan | |
DNF | Roman Maikin (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo | |
DNF | Ivan Savitskiy (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo | |
DNF | Andrei Solomennikov (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo | |
DNF | Benjamin Perry (Can) Israel Cycling Academy | |
DNF | Guy Sagiv (Isr) Israel Cycling Academy | |
DNF | Ludwig De Winter (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect | |
DNF | Lawrence Naesen (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect | |
DNF | Thomas Deruette (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect |

Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*
Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets
After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59

Join now for unlimited access
Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1