Van Asbroeck fourth in Impanis
Tom Van Asbroeck finished fourth in the Primus Classic Impanis - Van Petegem this afternoon in Belgium. Fernando Gaviria (Etixx - Quickstep) won in a bunch sprint ahead of Timothy Dupont (Verandas Willems) and team-mate Ariel Richeze.
The race, held in good weather, had varied race tactics. A leading group of six riders marked the first hours, but in the final, an attack by Olympic champion Greg van Avermaet blew the race apart and nine riders broke free.
"Hofland was in that leading group but a lost contact on a descent and couldn’t close the gap anymore," said Sport Director Frans Maassen. "He was bummed because all the elite men were present in that group. When we suddenly had no rider in the leading group, so we put all our cards on Tom Van Asbroeck. We closed the gap and Tom sprinted to fourth place. I am satisfied, it was the best we could do given the situation."
Colombian Gaviria shot free in the right moment of the sprint while Van Asbroeck sat on his wheel and finished fourth.
"I had to fight a lot to hold my position on his wheel," said Van Asbroeck. "The fight with Cort Nielsen cost a lot of energy. DuPont slipped in between. I can’t complain but on the other hand, I am only partly satisfied, because I missed the podium. This result does give me confidence towards the end of the season and the races yet to come."
In the last kilometre, Mike Teunissen crashed. Fortunately, the damage is limited to some road rash.