Boonen wins Gent-Wevelgem
By Cycling News
Cavendish can't make the cut
Tom Boonen was on song again at Gent-Wevelgem, showing prime form and fortune ahead of the Tour of Flanders by out-sprinting Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale) and Matti Breschel (Rabobank).
In a somewhat messy sprint marred by a crash from a Saxo Bank rider who took down JJ Rojas (Movistar) and Greg Van Avermaet (BMC), Boonen sped away ahead of the fall and had plenty of power to hold off young Sagan.
"I've found back my sprint. I'm not the fastest man in the peloton – that's probably Mark Cavendish – but if everybody is tired then I'm one of the best. I wasn't fully recovered from Friday's race and I wasn't the best in the race but we decided straight away that we would try to get a sprint. The Kemmelberg is too far from the finish to try something there," Boonen said.
Runner-up Sagan wasted some energy in a breakaway attempt together with Fabian Cancellara (Radioshack-Nissan-Trek) at 25km from the finish in Wevelgem but they were caught back by a large group led by the Omega Pharma-QuickStep troops.
After 235km of racing Sagan lacked the punch to finish ahead of Boonen. "After the last climb of the Kemmelberg I was in a breakaway with Cancellara. I felt good but that was already the case in the Tirreno. It's better to try something then to do nothing at all. In the sprint Boonen was stronger," Sagan said.
Just before the breakaway attempt from Sagan there was a demonstration from Matti Breschel on the Kemmelberg. The Dane left the peloton behind on the steep cobbled climb. "I couldn't go any slower," Breschel joked. "I got beaten by two guys who, right now, are better than me. I felt good today but Boonen is the best right now," Breschel stated.
A nine-rider group stayed away much of the race, but the real story was a split in the field with about 35 km to go. World champion Mark Cavendish (Sky) was left behind in a chasing group and tried to bridge the gap on his own, but never saw the front of the race again.
The breakaway started early in the day with seven riders taking the initiative: Jon Izaguirre Insausti (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Koen Barbé (Landbouwkrediet-Euphony), Thomas Bertolini (Farnese Vini – Selle Italia), Vladimir Isaychev (Katusha), Anders Lund (Saxo Bank), Stijn Neirynck (Topsport Vlaanderen – Mercator) and Kevin Van Melsen (Accent Jobs – Willems Veranda’s).
Julien Fouchard (Cofidis, le crédit en ligne) and Yuriy Krivtsov (Lampre – ISD) were able to bridge up with these seven to form the nine-man group which colored the first half of the race.
The nine gathered a lead of up to ten minutes while riding towards the North Sea. When turning away from the sea the headwind tortured the breakaway group and when riding through the north of France the gap quickly dropped down to seven minutes.
By the time they reached the foot of the often crucial Kemmelberg, the lead for the breakaway was down to 2:15, and Lund and Insausti attacked the rest of the breakaway group. On the second ascent of the Kemmelberg Rabobank's Breschel put on an impressive show, his powerful surge opening a gap in the peloton.
On the following Monteberg, the last climb of the day, riders including Luca Paolini (Katusha), Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) and Steve Chainel (FDJ) attempted to break away, but when Fabian Cancellara came to the front with Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale), the duo quickly caught up with the remains of the early breakaway. With 30 km to go they trailed the two leaders by 1:15 with a following peloton of about 40 riders. Behind, a group including sprinters like Mark Cavendish (Sky), André Greipel (Lotto-Belisol) and John Degenkolb (Project 1t4i) was quickly losing ground.
With 16km to go the breakaway and the two front groups were all together, but the second half of the peloton with Cavendish was still trailing by 45 seconds. The fast men in front were Boonen, Matthew Goss (GreenEdge), Daniele Bennati (RadioShack-Nissan-Trek), José Joaquin Rojas Gil (Movistar) and Oscar Freire (Katusha).
That gap only grew, and it soon became clear that it could not be closed. Cavendish did his best to bridge up, but it was not to be.
The pace stayed high as the group went into the finale. Oscar Freire of Katusha opened the sprint, but Boonen is on a roll and proved once again to have the fastest legs.
Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Tom Boonen (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep | 5:32:44 |
2 | Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale | |
3 | Matti Breschel (Den) Rabobank Cycling Team | |
4 | Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Katusha Team | |
5 | Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling | |
6 | Daniele Bennati (Ita) Radioshack-Nissan | |
7 | Marco Marcato (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | |
8 | Steve Chainel (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat | |
9 | Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Farnese Vini - Selle Italia | |
10 | Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team | |
11 | Johan Vansummeren (Bel) Garmin-Cervelo | |
12 | Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team | |
13 | Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Radioshack-Nissan | |
14 | Christian Knees (Ger) Sky Procycling | 0:00:03 |
15 | Jon Izaguirre Insausti (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | 0:00:04 |
16 | Daniel Oss (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | |
17 | Anders Lund (Den) Team Saxo Bank | |
18 | Maarten Wynants (Bel) Rabobank Cycling Team | 0:00:06 |
19 | Vladimir Isaichev (Rus) Katusha Team | |
20 | Oscar Gatto (Ita) Farnese Vini - Selle Italia | 0:00:08 |
21 | Koen Barbe (Bel) Landbouwkrediet | |
22 | Alessandro Ballan (Ita) BMC Racing Team | 0:00:15 |
23 | Julien Fouchard (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne | 0:00:21 |
24 | Luca Paolini (Ita) Katusha Team | |
25 | Gert Steegmans (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep | |
26 | Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) GreenEdge Cycling Team | 0:00:32 |
27 | Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team | 0:00:36 |
28 | Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quickstep | 0:01:27 |
29 | Stijn Neirynck (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator | |
30 | Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Team Saxo Bank | 0:02:22 |
31 | André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team | 0:02:27 |
32 | Jonas Aaen Jörgensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank | |
33 | Michael Schär (Swi) BMC Racing Team | |
34 | Adrien Petit (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne | |
35 | Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team Saxo Bank | 0:02:31 |
36 | Egoitz Garcia Echeguibel (Spa) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne | |
37 | Kristof Goddaert (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:02:33 |
38 | Francisco José Ventoso Alberdi (Spa) Movistar Team | |
39 | Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team | |
40 | Kevin Van Melsen (Bel) Accent Jobs - Willems Veranda's | |
41 | Maxime Vantomme (Bel) Katusha Team | |
42 | Imanol Erviti Ollo (Spa) Movistar Team | |
43 | Pieter Vanspeybrouck (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator | |
44 | Mirko Selvaggi (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | |
45 | Maxim Iglinskiy (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | |
46 | Xavier Florencio Cabre (Spa) Katusha Team | |
47 | Pablo Lastras Garcia (Spa) Movistar Team | |
48 | Thor Hushovd (Nor) BMC Racing Team | |
49 | Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
50 | Anthony Geslin (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat | |
51 | George Hincapie (USA) BMC Racing Team | |
52 | Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Astana Pro Team | |
53 | Grégory Rast (Swi) Radioshack-Nissan | |
54 | Paul Martens (Ger) Rabobank Cycling Team | |
55 | Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Cervelo | |
56 | Jaroslaw Marycz (Pol) Team Saxo Bank | |
57 | John Degenkolb (Ger) Project 1t4i | |
58 | Mark Cavendish (GBr) Sky Procycling | |
59 | Leonardo Fabio Duque (Col) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne | |
60 | Jens Keukeleire (Bel) GreenEdge Cycling Team | |
61 | Dries Devenyns (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep | |
62 | Nikolas Maes (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep | |
63 | Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Farnese Vini - Selle Italia | |
64 | Matteo Trentin (Ita) Omega Pharma-Quickstep | |
65 | Thomas Leezer (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | |
66 | Bram Tankink (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | |
67 | Tony Gallopin (Fra) Radioshack-Nissan | |
68 | Mathew Hayman (Aus) Sky Procycling | |
69 | Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Movistar Team | |
70 | Ian Stannard (GBr) Sky Procycling | |
71 | Kris Boeckmans (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | 0:07:08 |
72 | Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Team Europcar | |
73 | David Boucher (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat | |
74 | Rafaa Chtioui (Tun) Team Europcar | 0:10:01 |
75 | Danilo Hondo (Ger) Lampre - ISD | |
76 | Geoffrey Soupe (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat | |
77 | Davide Vigano (Ita) Lampre - ISD | |
78 | Pim Ligthart (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | |
79 | Tom Van Asbroeck (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator | |
80 | Luca Mazzanti (Ita) Farnese Vini - Selle Italia | |
81 | Reinier Honig (Ned) Landbouwkrediet | |
82 | Ruben Perez Moreno (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | |
83 | Eliot Lietaer (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator | |
84 | Juan Jose Oroz Ugalde (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | |
85 | Sven Vandousselaere (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator | |
86 | Luca Ascani (Ita) Farnese Vini - Selle Italia | |
87 | Edward King (USA) Liquigas-Cannondale | |
88 | Mauro Da Dalto (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | |
89 | Gorka Izaguirre Insausti (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | |
90 | Kristijan Koren (Slo) Liquigas-Cannondale | |
91 | Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team | |
92 | Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing Team | |
93 | Laurens De Vreese (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator | |
94 | Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team | |
95 | Tosh Van Der Sande (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team | |
96 | Gustav Larsson (Swe) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | |
97 | Tiziano Dall'antonia (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | |
98 | Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale | |
99 | Thomas Bertolini (Ita) Farnese Vini - Selle Italia | |
100 | Pier Paolo De Negri (Ita) Farnese Vini - Selle Italia | |
101 | Elia Favilli (Ita) Farnese Vini - Selle Italia | |
102 | Steven Caethoven (Bel) Accent Jobs - Willems Veranda's | |
103 | Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre - ISD | |
104 | Alan Marangoni (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | |
105 | Stefan Van Dijk (Ned) Accent Jobs - Willems Veranda's | |
106 | Evert Verbist (Bel) Accent Jobs - Willems Veranda's | |
107 | Lars Boom (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | |
108 | Greg Henderson (NZl) Lotto Belisol Team | |
109 | Bertjan Lindeman (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | |
110 | Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | |
111 | Jack Bauer (NZl) Garmin-Cervelo | |
112 | Aliaksandr Kuschynski (Blr) Katusha Team | |
113 | Assan Bazayev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | |
114 | Marcello Pavarin (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | |
115 | Aleksejs Saramotins (Lat) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne | |
116 | Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) FDJ-Big Mat | |
117 | Saïd Haddou (Fra) Team Europcar | |
118 | Sébastien Chavanel (Fra) Team Europcar | |
119 | Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar | |
120 | Yohann Gene (Fra) Team Europcar | |
121 | Bert De Backer (Bel) Project 1t4i | |
122 | Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | |
123 | Mark Renshaw (Aus) Rabobank Cycling Team | |
124 | Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Radioshack-Nissan | |
125 | Stuart O'grady (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team | |
126 | Robert Hunter (RSA) Garmin-Cervelo | |
127 | Anthony Ravard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
128 | Kevyn Ista (Bel) Accent Jobs - Willems Veranda's | |
129 | Bernard Eisel (Aut) Sky Procycling | |
130 | Jeremy Hunt (GBr) Sky Procycling | |
131 | Christopher Sutton (Aus) Sky Procycling | |
132 | Jonathan Cantwell (Aus) Team Saxo Bank | |
133 | Kasper Klostergaard Larsen (Den) Team Saxo Bank | |
134 | Alex Rasmussen (Den) Garmin-Cervelo | |
135 | Michael Morkov (Den) Team Saxo Bank | |
136 | Vicente Reynes Mimo (Spa) Lotto Belisol Team | |
137 | Andreas Klier (Ger) Garmin-Cervelo | |
138 | Francesco Chicchi (Ita) Omega Pharma-Quickstep | |
139 | Svein Tuft (Can) GreenEdge Cycling Team | |
140 | Michaël Van Staeyen (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator | |
141 | Kenny Dehaes (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team | |
142 | Jonas Van Genechten (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team | |
143 | Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat | |
144 | Pablo Urtasun Perez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | |
145 | Yuriy Krivtsov (Fra) Lampre - ISD | 0:12:01 |
146 | Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | 0:12:33 |
147 | Jimmy Casper (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
148 | Nico Sijmens (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne | |
149 | Jesus Herrada Lopez (Spa) Movistar Team | |
150 | Valentin Iglinskiy (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | |
151 | Borut Bozic (Slo) Astana Pro Team | |
152 | Bobbie Traksel (Ned) Landbouwkrediet | |
153 | Gilles Devillers (Bel) Landbouwkrediet | |
154 | Massimo Graziato (Ita) Lampre - ISD | |
155 | Manuel Belletti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale | |
156 | Jelle Wallays (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator | |
157 | Baden Cooke (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team | |
158 | Damien Gaudin (Fra) Team Europcar | |
DNF | Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep | |
DNF | Gert Dockx (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team | |
DNF | Steve Houanard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
DNF | Romain Lemarchand (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
DNF | Boris Shpilevsky (Rus) AG2R La Mondiale | |
DNF | Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | |
DNF | Ricardo Garcia Ambroa (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | |
DNF | Adrian Saez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | |
DNF | Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat | |
DNF | Dominique Rollin (Can) FDJ-Big Mat | |
DNF | Matthew Wilson (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team | |
DNF | Tomas Vaitkus (Ltu) GreenEdge Cycling Team | |
DNF | Denis Galimzyanov (Rus) Katusha Team | |
DNF | Alexander Porsev (Rus) Katusha Team | |
DNF | Grega Bole (Slo) Lampre - ISD | |
DNF | Vitaliy Buts (Ukr) Lampre - ISD | |
DNF | Enrique Sanz (Spa) Movistar Team | |
DNF | Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) Movistar Team | |
DNF | Koldo Fernandez (Spa) Garmin-Cervelo | |
DNF | Sebastien Rosseler (Bel) Garmin-Cervelo | |
DNF | Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Radioshack-Nissan | |
DNF | Robert Thomas Wagner (Ger) Radioshack-Nissan | |
DNF | Hayden Roulston (NZl) Radioshack-Nissan | |
DNF | Davy Commeyne (Bel) Landbouwkrediet | |
DNF | Egidijus Juodvalkis (Ltu) Landbouwkrediet | |
DNF | Kevin Peeters (Bel) Landbouwkrediet | |
DNF | Jonathan Breyne (Bel) Landbouwkrediet | |
DNF | Wim De Vocht (Bel) Accent Jobs - Willems Veranda's | |
DNF | Sjef De Wilde (Bel) Accent Jobs - Willems Veranda's | |
DNF | Arnoud Van Groen (Ned) Accent Jobs - Willems Veranda's | |
DNF | Edwig Cammaerts (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne | |
DNF | Marcel Kittel (Ger) Project 1t4i | |
DNF | Tom Stamsnijder (Ned) Project 1t4i | |
DNF | Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Project 1t4i | |
DNF | Ronan Van Zandbeek (Ned) Project 1t4i | |
DNF | Roy Curvers (Ned) Project 1t4i | |
DNF | Mathieu Claude (Fra) Team Europcar |
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