The fifth race of the GVA-Trofee took place in Loenhout today. World champion Zdenek Stybar took another fine start after his good ride in the World Cup of Heusden-Zolder. Stybar took a head start, but after a small error the chase group bridged the gap.
Niels Albert and Lars Boom took over from the world champion and opened up a gap. Some laps later Albert went on alone, while Stybar was in a chase group with Sven Nys, Bart Wellens and Rob Peeters.
The four chasers reeled in Boom, who had to let go the group Stybar quickly. In the meanwhile Albert extended his lead to half a minute, which made clear he would win the race. In the battle for the 2nd place Stybar outsprinted Nys. With his 2nd place Stybar did a good job in the overall rankings of the GVA-Trofee. He is now standing 2nd, only 12 points behind overall leader Pauwels who finished 6th today.
"It was a hard race but I'm happy with the way I competed. At the beginning of the 3rd lap I made an error in a muddy patch. However things are going much better than two weeks ago. I still don't feel well but I'm sure I'll improve race after race. Anyway, I've regained my feeling for the race; this is the most important thing", Stybar said after the finish.