The late attackers managed to hold off the peloton and fight for victory on Esplanade de la Gare.
The 77th edition of the Tour de l'Eurometropole, the penultimate race of the Belgian Cup, had to wait until the second hour of racing for a break to go clear, and when that happened, eight men found themselves at the front, with a four-minute gap which was controlled by the sprinters' teams, including Quick-Step Floors, who sent both Tim Declercq and Davide Martinelli at the head of proceedings.
Starting from La Louvière and finishing in Tournai, where the peloton had to run six times over a 14.7km-long circuit which included a short climb, the Tour de l'Eurometropole didn't lack action, especially in the final 20 kilometers, when many riders showed their intentions of giving the slip to the sprinters. Yves Lampaert was one of the riders to test the waters, but the Belgian ITT Champion and his fellow attackers got reeled in just ahead of the final ten kilometers.
That didn't stop other riders from trying their chance, a new group emerging soon, helped by the final hill of the course and the winds which split the field. Dries Devenyns was there for Quick-Step Floors and even attacked with one kilometer to go, but his action was countered by the others and the race concluded in a reduced sprint, on Esplanade de la Gare, won by Daniel McLay (Fortuneo-Oscaro) over Kenny Dehaes (Wanty-Groupe Gobert) and Anthony Turgis (Cofidis).
A very active Dries Devenyns was our top finisher on Sunday, crossing the line in 12th place, just a few second behind the victor. After this weekend, our team will now look to the penultimate Belgian race of the season, Binche-Chimay-Binche, also known as Memorial Frank Vandenbroucke, scheduled on Tuesday.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele
