Renewi Tour

Warre Vangheluwe had a clear goal at the start of the Renewi Tour stage three, from Blankenberge to Ardooie: join the breakaway and make the most out of it there, as the race passed not far from my home. The 23-year-old from Tielt didn’t waste any time when the flag was dropped, attacking immediately and being joined by four riders, with whom he put around three minutes into the peloton. It was a daring move from the Belgian, who knew the sprinters would be favourites on the pan-flat 185.5km course, but that didn’t stop him from giving everything out there.

The escapees did a great job together, but with several teams joining hands behind, their gap continued to shrink and the peloton inched closer in the final 30 kilometers. Knowing this, Vangheluwe launched an all-out attack 15 kilometers from home, similar to that which netted him his first pro victory, at the Quatre Jours de Dunkerque.

Entering the last ten kilometers of the stage, Warre carried a 20-second gap, which was encouraging at that point of the race, but despite an amazing effort on the long and wide roads to Ardooie, the fast men’s teams reeled him in just three kilometers from the line and Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) took the victory. The general classification remained more or less the same, which means Ilan Van Wilder will go into the penultimate day of the event as the best-placed Soudal Quick-Step rider.

“It was a quite special day, with so many of my friends and people I know cheering for me from the side of the road. One of the sprints was just two kilometers from my home, so it was emotional to take on these roads I know so well. I felt good today, wanted to join the breakaway and gave my best there, so at the end of the day, I am quite content”, Warre said after the stage.

Photo credit: ©Luc Claessen / Getty Images