Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team rider Tom Boonen made two attempts for big results at the 252.6km Vattenfall Cyclassics on Sunday. He first attempted to make a small escape group that included teammate Gerald Ciolek, and then went for the final sprint when it was clear the peloton was not letting any breaks stay away.
Boonen, who started his sprint within 400 meters, but a bit further back, earned 4th place in the bunch sprint. Arnaud Demare (FDJ-BigMat) won, with Andre Greipel (Lotto-Belisol) placing 2nd and Giacomo Nizzolo (Radioshack-Nissan) placing 3rd.
"Today was an extremely hot day" said Boonen. "On the second to last passage on the Waseberg I tried to attack to select a group of riders and tried to go to the finish. The move was good, but then it wasn't so easy to organize the breakaway. I think that everybody was simply tired and suffering from the heat. At that point I tried to attack again, hoping that three or four riders could have followed me — but nothing happened. So we decided to wait for the final sprint. Pineau, Vandenbergh and Ciolek did a good job to prepare the sprint. Maybe I was a little bit too far in the last meters, but I have to say that I'm happy about my sprint and my result. If I was a little bit more in the front, maybe I could have fought for second place. Congratulations to Demare, he did a great sprint and he deserved the victory. He's a talented rider."
"Today we were active and present in all the actions that characterized the final part of the race," Sports Director Wilfried Peeters said. "Tom and Gerarld tried on the Waseberg and the attack could have had success. Then Pineau was always in the front, and in the final kilometers even Vandenbergh gave his contribution. We come back home from Hamburg with a good team result."
