On the cobbled finish, the Belgian champion won Binche Chimay Binche after a powerful sprint.
A lot of sprinters were present for Binche Chimay Binche. An early breakaway of six riders was kept under control by the peloton, who took them back with 50 kilometers to go. After that a few other riders tried to escape, but inside the last 10 kilometers it seemed the victory would be decided with a sprint scenario. Arnaud De Lie showed a powerful sprint on the cobbled finish in Binche, taking his seventh victory of the season.
“I actually didn’t feel great this morning”, the Belgian champion starts his story of the day. “Also during the first hours of the race my legs didn’t feel super, but on the local lap I started to feel better. Maybe it was because of a lack of race rhythm. The team rode a great finale, we were where we had to be. I tried to tackle the sprint in the best way possible, and it worked out. I’m super happy I could win my first race in the Walloon part of Belgium in this jersey. And I leave behind some nice names.”
“It’s always a hard race here. There was a lot of wind, but not enough to make a real selection. I was sick after GP Wallonie, but my motivation was still there. I trained five hours in the rain last week and it paid off.”
Florian Vermeersch was involved in a crash, but without any consequences.
