Sylvain Chavanel showed his form the past several days, setting the tempo and constantly being at the front of the peloton or important moves at KBC-Driedaagse De Panne -Koksijde.
Chavanel confirmed just how strong he is with a blistering 17'49"34 time in the 14.7km Stage 3b time trial on Thursday, beating 2nd place finisher Lieuwe Westra (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team) by 4", and third place finisher Svein Tuft (GreenEDGE Cycling Team) by 17".
"First of all I am super happy with this victory," Chavanel said. "This year I did not win until now, and a lot of our riders have already won. It was a little disappointing that I was riding well but unable to win a race. I am also happy because this victory came at a time trial. I worked a lot during the winter in the time trial because, in the past, I was a three-time French champion time trialist. I used to be a good rider for the time trial, but in the last year, because of my back problem, I wasn't able to perform well. This winter I worked a lot on my position with the team staff and Specialized staff, now we start to see some results. I was 4th in Argentina, 6th in the Stage 1 Paris-Nice time trial, so I am reaching my objectives with my time trial bike."
Niki Terpstra and Guillaume Van Keirsbulck both had a strong showing as well. Terpstra finished 4th (+18"), and Van Keirsbulck 9th (+38"). Chavanel's performance was enough to also give him the overall victory at De Panne, besting Westra (+4") and Maciej Bodnar of Liquigas-Cannondale (+14").
"It's a good moment when I win in Flanders," Chavanel said. "It's always important to win here. Everybody knows the one in Flanders are the races I love most, one of them being the Tour de Flanders. I am happy with my result, and showed during the week I am in good condition. We are ready to fight on Sunday for Ronde van Vlaanderen."
Francesco Chicchi also took 4th place in the Stage 3a field sprint of the 112.1km course from De Panne to De Panne, getting position up the right side but unable to beat Alexander Kristoff (Katusha Team) for 1st, Andre Schulze (Team Net App) for 2nd and Kenny Van Hummel for 3rd.
The GC and stage victory give Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team 28 victories this year in three different disciplines, with 10 different riders winning in the road discipline. They will certainly be battling hard for a good result in Ronde van Vlaanderen on Sunday, with plenty of momentum.
"On Sunday, Tom will be the captain," Chavanel said of Tom Boonen. "For sure he is number one, he has already won two times. But I will have an important role with the team as well. It's important to know that it's not just Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team in the race on Sunday. There are a lot of strong teams able to perform very well. It won't be easy, but we will try to fight."
