Baloise Belgium Tour

Kasper Asgreen took a solid top ten on the opening day of the Belgium Tour, which got underway with a 12km individual time trial, held on the flat roads around Beringen. The Danish Champion was the penultimate rider to roll down the ramp and immediately found his rhythm, putting together a nice ITT.

The 29-year-old covered the course in 13:38 after averaging 52.75km/h and concluded the stage won by Søren Wærenskjold (Uno X-Mobility) in sixth place. Asgreen was joined in the top ten by his Soudal Quick-Step teammate Josef Cerny, who made his first outing since the Giro d’Italia.

“It was a really fast time trial, with a bit of headwind in some parts of the route. For me it was a good test, because I want to defend my title at the National Championships later this month. This result makes me happy also because it puts me in a good position from which I can try to do something in the general classification. I would like to have a solid week here, but at the same time, I will do my best to help Tim Merlier in the sprint stages”, said Kasper at the finish.

Photo credit: ©Luc Claessen / Getty Images