Jens Keukeleire sprinted to his second victory in three days when he took the opening stage in the Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen. The young Cofidis rider already won the GP Samyn on Wednesday. Keukeleire beat Rony Martias and Paul Voß in the 183km stage from Kortrijk to Bellegem.
Keukeleire is a neo-pro with the French Cofidis team. The wins today and on Wednesday were his first two as a professional.
Milram’s director was quite happy with Voß’ third place. “That was a super team performance. The guys were active the whole day,” Milram’s Directeur Sportif Jochen Hahn said. After an escape group was caught before the finale, it came down to a showdown on the closing circuit course in Bellegem. “That’s when the team really gave gas. First Wim de Vocht attacked and went for his chance. And in the finale, we gave everything for Paul Voß. That worked out.”
A three-man break with Stéphane Poulhies, Mitchell Docker and Maurice Vrijmoed dominated the day, building maximum lead of ten minutes. They were later joined by Klaas Lodewyck and Christophe Kern, with 41km to go. But the break was caught with five kilometers to go, setting up the scenario for a bunch sprint.
Frédéric Amorison and Pïeter Vanspeybrouck tried to prevent this, but were quickly brought back as well.
The three-day race continues with a 176km stage from Torhout to Handzame.