Breakaway holds off the chasers in Belgium.
One week from bringing to a conclusion his perfect outing at the Tour de Hongrie, where he captured three stages and the points jersey, Tim Merlier made his first appearance in a one-day race since April’s Volta a Limburg.
The Grand Prix Criquielion, a 205km event featuring a couple of cobbled sectors and some small hills, is typically a race that comes down to a bunch sprint, but on Sunday there was a completely different script, as a four-man breakaway made it for the smallest of margins in Lessines, where this 31st edition finished.
Soudal Quick-Step was prominent the entire time, chasing hard the escapees and coming close to bringing them back, but in the end, the group made it and Alessandro Borgo (Bahrain Victorious) took the win. A few seconds later, the peloton came home and Tim Merlier won that sprint, racking up his seventh top ten of the season.
“We took control of the race today, but the other teams weren’t really willing to commit in order to have a bunch sprint. Chapeau to the guys, because they did their best. Due to the heat, everyone was a bit on their limit going into the closing kilometers. In the end, I won the peloton’s sprint and I think that was the best possible result today”, Tim said at the finish.
Photo credit: ©Luc Claessen / Getty Images
