Belgian finishes on the podium at his second participation, after escaping crash-marred finale.
Philippe Gilbert netted Deceuninck – Quick-Step’s 80th top 3 finish of the season at the 200.9km-long Halle Ingooigem, which took on a course consisting of several short hills and cobblestone segments that many riders used as launch pad inside the final hour of racing in an attempt to destabilize the sprinters’ teams.
Our squad got involved in two of these moves, with neo-pro Mikkel Honoré and “El Tractor” Tim Declercq, who joined the attacks, making sure the Wolfpack would keep their options open at all time. Eventually, with ten kilometers remaining, it all came back together – also with the strong headwind’s help – and the lead-out trains began jostling for position.
Deceuninck – Quick-Step took over the reins with one kilometer to go, but a crash at the head of the bunch took down Davide Martinelli and derailed our sprint train. The one to emerge victorious from the chaos was Dries De Bondt (Corendon-Circus), three seconds ahead of a small group from which Philippe Gilbert sprinted to his fifth top 3 finish of the season.
“We were riding perfectly when the crash happened. Davide was right in front of me and when he crashed, I was lucky to avoid him. I feel really sorry that he hit the ground, but fortunately, he is ok. We were with our train and I told Martinelli in the last kilometer to accelerate, but then that crash occurred and came down. I had to break, and so did Fabio, who was behind and stood still, which stopped him from getting involved in the sprint”, Philippe explained at the finish in Ingooigem.
The Paris-Roubaix victor, who in four days will ride the Belgian Championships in Gent, continued: “Due to what happened, I lost the power and the speed, so I just went again full gas, knowing it wasn’t for the win. We had a strong team today and spent the entire race working in the front, so it’s a pity that this incident ruined our plans. Now it’s time to look forward to Sunday, when I want to give it my all and help keep the beautiful Belgian Champion jersey within the team.”
Photo credit: ©Luc Claessen/ Getty Images
