The 32-year-old Belgian came close to a top 3 finish Friday afternoon.
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl continued the Vuelta a Burgos with just four riders, after Davide Ballerini, Simone Raccani and Jannik Steimle all abandoned due to crashes in the last two days, but even in these difficult conditions remained prominent, after Pieter Serry infiltrated himself in a 14-man breakaway that ended up going all the way to the line.
Twenty kilometers from the finish, a series of accelerations split the group, leaving only seven riders at the front. Pieter was there, tracking down two attacks and keeping things together as they arrived at the base of the final climb, a 2.1km one averaging 4.9%. The attacking began with only 200 meters to go, and Serry did his best to remain there and use his last ounce of energy after more than three hours in the saddle under a sweltering sun, coming close to what would have been his first podium of the season.
Fourth in Clunia, Pieter was followed a couple of minutes later by his teammate Ilan Van Wilder, who came home in the bunch and even gained a position in the general classification, going up to ninth.
Photo credit: ©Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno / Getty Images
