The Dutchman delivered a perfect sprint to notch up our team’s first win at Gooikse Pijl.
In just his second outing since the Vuelta a España, Fabio Jakobsen took another victory at the end of a race controlled by his Deceuninck – Quick-Step teammates. It was the Wolfpack’s seventh success of a week that witnessed wins across three different countries (Belgium, Luxembourg and Slovakia) with six different riders.
The 18th edition of Gooikse Pijl put on the table a 199km slightly undulating course and was animated by a nine-man front group featuring Zdenek Stybar until the closing stages of the race. Once the catch was made, the men in blue emerged at the front and drilled the pace, with Bert Van Lerberghe launching the “Hurricane of Heukelum” to victory with 150 meters to go and the 25-year-old easily holding off his opponents for the 24th pro win of his career.
“I am glad that the shape is still there after the Vuelta, even though the legs hurt a bit today. But I knew I had a great team around me and they did a perfect job, bringing me in a perfect position and providing a textbook lead-out. That only motivated me to do a strong sprint and I am glad I could take another victory for Deceuninck – Quick-Step. I enjoyed being here, it was a nice race with a good atmosphere thanks to the numerous fans on the course, and I’m happy that at the end of the day I delivered the team’s first win in Gooikse Pijl”, Fabio said.
Photo credit: ©Cor Vos
