Vandewalle celebrating biggest success of his career after Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen triumph

Ciolek triumphs in big bunch gallop

Belgian time trial champion Kristof Vandewalle added another jersey to his wardrobe today when he and his Omega Pharma Quick Step team successfully defended his overnight lead in the Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen.

The 27 year old, who grabbed the overall lead in Friday’s prologue and then resisted attacks yesterday, finishing safely in the main bunch gallop today.

Former world under 23 champion Gerald Ciolek was first past the line in Ichtegem , beating Adrien Petit (Cofidis, Solutions Credits), Bobbie Traksel (Champion System Pro Cycling Team) plus the rest of the bunch at the end of the 181.8 kilometre concluding leg.

That success was the first European victory of the season for the African team, and marked a return to form for the German.

As for Vandewalle, the success is Omega Pharma Quick Step’s twelfth win of the year, albeit across three disciplines, and marks the third stage race win for the team after Tony Martin’s Volta ao Algarve success and the Tour of Qatar win by Mark Cavendish.

“I am super happy about this victory,” a jubilant Vandewalle said afterwards. “For me it’s something special because I am from this region, making it a bit of a hometown race. It was a pleasure for me to win in front of my public.”

His satisfaction was mixed with relief, as he admitted that he struggled at points during the stage. “I have to say also that, I had a good performance in the prologue and yesterday I felt good, but today I really got great support from my teammates. I have to thank them, they did a great job because today wasn’t one of the best racing days of my life. Fortunately I can count on a strong team.

“I think the problem was I felt a little bit the sickness of last week, when I had a fever. So, today, I felt a little weak after three days in a row of racing after a few days of sickness. It was not so easy but I am happy I pulled it off.”

A constant stream of attacks were launched from the drop of the flag. A move of six riders eventually got established and rode hard to build their advantage, but were only granted three minutes. The Omega Pharma Quick Step peloton then reeled them in with approximately 50 kilometres remaining, after which a three man move went clear for a while.

These were however hauled back, thus setting things up for a sprint and what was a dominant win by Ciolek.

He crashed yesterday, but had completely different fortune today. “Cycling is amazing. One day you have all the bad luck and then the next day you are on the podium,” he said.

Vandewalle was even happier, though. “I will celebrate this victory with my team and look forward to my next appointment: Cape Argus Pick ‘n Pay Cycle Tour,” he said. “We will go there with Iljo Keisse and Julien Vermote to try and get a good result there also. Why not? We will try to do our best and maybe even get a victory. We will see!”

Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen, Belgium (2.1)

Stage 2, Nieuwpoort to Ichtegem:

1, Kristof Vandewalle (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) 8 hours 33 mins 22 secs
2, Tobias Ludvigsson (Team Argos-Shimano) at 6 secs
3, Niki Terpstra (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) at 7 secs
4, Tiago Machado (RadioShack Leopard) at 8 secs
5, Johan Le Bon (FDJ) at 11 secs
6, Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) at mins 12 secs
7, Jelle Wallays (Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise)
8, Matthieu Ladagnous (FDJ) at 14 secs
9, Frantisek Rabon (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) at 15 secs
10, Roger Kluge (Team NetApp-Endura) at 18 secs
11, Bob Jungels (RadioShack Leopard)
12, Dries Devenyns (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) at 19 secs
13, Julien Vermote (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) at 20 secs
14, Alexander Porsev (Katusha) at 22 secs
15, David Boucher (FDJ)
16, Artem Ovechkin (RusVelo)
17, Adrien Petit (Cofidis, Solutions Credits) at 23 secs
18, Benoît Vaugrenard (FDJ) at 24 secs
19, Michael Olsson (Team People4You – Unaas Cycling) at 25 secs
20, Jonathan Breyne (Crelan-Euphony) at 26 secs
21, Nelson Filipe Santos Simoes Oliveira (RadioShack Leopard) at 27 secs
22, Ben Hermans (RadioShack Leopard)
23, Gediminas Bagdonas (AG2R La Mondiale)
24, Laurent Pichon (FDJ) at 28 secs
25, Sander Cordeel (Lotto Belisol)
26, Timofey Kritskiy (Katusha) at 31 secs
27, Danny van Poppel (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team)
28, Christoph Pfingsten (Cyclingteam De Rijke-Shanks)
29, Hugo Houle (AG2R La Mondiale)
30, Viacheslav Kuznetsov (Katusha)
31, Pieter Jacobs (Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise) at 32 secs
32, Gijs Van Hoecke (Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise)
33, Arnaud Gerard (Bretagne-Seche Environnement)
34, Wouter Mol (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team) at 34 secs
35, Pierre-Luc Perrichon (Bretagne-Seche Environnement)
36, Nikolay Trusov (Cyclingteam De Rijke-Shanks)
37, Tom Van Asbroeck (Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise) at 35 secs
38, Viktor Manakov (RusVelo)
39, Jonathan Cantwell (Team Saxo-Tinkoff) at 36 secs
40, Jarl Salomein (Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise)
41, Alexey Tsatevitch (Katusha)
42, Georg Preidler (Team Argos-Shimano) at 37 secs
43, Alphonse Vermote (An Post-Chainreaction) at 38 secs
44, Kiel Reijnen (UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team)
45, Kenny Dehaes (Lotto Belisol)
46, David Veilleux (Team Europcar)
47, Markus Eichler (Team NetApp-Endura) at 39 secs
48, Jonas Aaen Jörgensen (Team Saxo-Tinkoff) at 40 secs
49, Anthony Geslin (FDJ) at 41 secs
50, Julien Fouchard (Cofidis, Solutions Credits) at 42 secs
51, Matt Brammeier (Champion System Pro Cycling Team)
52, Alexander Wetterhall (Team NetApp-Endura)
53, Kurt Hovelynck (Crelan-Euphony) at 43 secs
54, Benjamin Verraes (Accent Jobs-Wanty) at 45 secs
55, Christopher Jones (UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team)
56, Stijn Neirynck (Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise) at 46 secs
57, Jonas Van Genechten (Lotto Belisol) at 47 secs
58, Mark McNally (An Post-Chainreaction) at 48 secs
59, Roman Maikin (RusVelo)
60, Florent Barle (Cofidis, Solutions Credits) at 49 secs
61, Barry Markus (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team)
62, Kess Heytens (Team 3M)
63, Florian Vachon (Bretagne-Seche Environnement)
64, Andrei Solomennikov (RusVelo) at 50 secs
65, Bobbie Traksel (Champion System Pro Cycling Team) at 51 secs
66, Stefan Van Dijk (Accent Jobs-Wanty)
67, Tosh Van Der Sande (Lotto Belisol) at 52 secs
68, Egidijus Juodvalkis (Crelan-Euphony) at 53 secs
69, Alessandro Bazzana (UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team)
70, Kenny Robert van Hummel (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team) at 55 secs
71, Roy Sentjens (Cyclingteam De Rijke-Shanks) at 56 secs
72, Nicolas Vereecken (An Post-Chainreaction)
73, Sven Vandousselaere (Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise) at 58 secs
74, Niels Wytinck (An Post-Chainreaction)
75, Tony Hurel (Team Europcar)
76, Stéphane Poulhies (Cofidis, Solutions Credits)
77, Julian Kern (AG2R La Mondiale) at 59 secs
78, Dominique Rollin (FDJ) at 1 min 2 secs
79, Dylan Groenewegen (Cyclingteam De Rijke-Shanks) at 1 min 5 secs
80, Geoffroy Lequatre (Bretagne-Seche Environnement) at 1 min 6 secs
81, Roy Jans (Accent Jobs-Wanty)
82, Coen Vermeltfoort (Cyclingteam De Rijke-Shanks) at 1 min 9 secs
83, Renaud Dion (Bretagne-Seche Environnement)
84, Kevin Peeters (Crelan-Euphony) at 1 min 10 secs
85, Wouter Wippert (Team 3M) at 1 min 13 secs
86, Kevin Hulsmans (Vini Fantini-Selle Italia) at 1 min 14 secs
87, Davide Frattini (UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team)
88, Andreas Stauff (MTN-Qhubeka) at 1 min 15 secs
89, Danilo Napolitano (Accent Jobs-Wanty) at 1 min 17 secs
90, Ignatas Konovalovas (MTN-Qhubeka) at 1 min 43 secs
91, Willem Wauters (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team)
92, Iljo Keisse (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) at 1 min 46 secs
93, Ryan Roth (Champion System Pro Cycling Team)
94, Niko Eeckhout (An Post-Chainreaction) at 1 min 55 secs
95, Koen Barbe (Crelan-Euphony) at 2 mins 4 secs
96, Roberto De Patre (Vini Fantini-Selle Italia)
97, Pavel Kochetkov (RusVelo) at 2 mins 7 secs
98, Bjorn Thurau (Team Europcar) at 2 mins 12 secs
99, Clinton Robert Avery (Champion System Pro Cycling Team) at 2 mins 15 secs
100, Robert Pölder (Team People4You-Unaas Cycling) at 2 mins 19 secs
101, Tom Goovaerts (Team 3M) at 2 mins 36 secs
102, Gerald Ciolek (MTN-Qhubeka) at 3 mins 11 secs
103, Christopher Juul Jensen (Team Saxo-Tinkoff) at 3 mins 30 secs
104, James Vanlandschoot (Accent Jobs-Wanty) at 3 mins 41 secs
105, Jimmy Janssens (Team 3M) at 3 mins 47 secs
106, Kristian Sbaragli (MTN-Qhubeka) at 3 mins 56 secs
107, Edwig Cammaerts (Cofidis, Solutions Credits) at 5 mins 4 secs
108, Takashi Miyazawa (Team Saxo-Tinkoff) at 5 mins 15 secs
109, Jo Kogstad Ringheim (Team People4You-Unaas Cycling) at 5 mins 40 secs
110, Stijn Devolder (RadioShack Leopard) at 6 mins 53 secs
111, Patrick Gretsch (Team Argos-Shimano) at 6 mins 58 secs
112, Anton Vorobyev (Katusha) at 6 mins 59 secs
113, Jesse Sergent (RadioShack Leopard) at 7 mins 3 secs
114, Benjamin King (RadioShack Leopard) at 7 mins 5 secs
115, Jay McCarthy (Team Saxo-Tinkoff) at 7 mins 6 secs
116, Nikias Arndt (Team Argos-Shimano) at 7 mins 9 secs
117, Glenn O’Shea (An Post-Chainreaction) at 7 mins 14 secs
118, Jan Ghyselinck (Cofidis, Solutions Credits) at 7 mins 15 secs
119, Maurits Lammertink (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team) at 7 mins 20 secs
120, Mart Ojavee (Champion System Pro Cycling Team) at 7 mins 22 secs
121, Brian Bulgac (Lotto Belisol) at 7 mins 24 secs
122, Erick Rowsell (Team NetApp-Endura) at 7 mins 26 secs
123, Vegard Stake Laengen (Bretagne-Seche Environnement)
124, Sergey Klimov (RusVelo) at 7 mins 27 secs
125, Maarten Neyens (Lotto Belisol) at 7 mins 30 secs
126, Kevin Claeys (Crelan-Euphony) at 7 mins 31 secs
127, Matthias Friedemann (Champion System Pro Cycling Team) at 7 mins 32 secs
128, Jean-Pierre Drucker (Accent Jobs-Wanty)
129, Joren Segers (Team 3M) at 7 mins 34 secs
130, Fredrik Ludvigsson (Team People4You-Unaas Cycling)
131, Michael Schwarzmann (Team NetApp-Endura) at 7 mins 35 secs
132, Nico Sijmens (Cofidis, Solutions Credits)
133, Alexander Mironov (RusVelo) at 7 mins 36 secs
134, Michael Vingerling (Team 3M) at 7 mins 40 secs
135, Scott Thwaites (Team NetApp-Endura) at 7 mins 41 secs
136, Ronan McLaughlin (An Post-Chainreaction) at 7 mins 42 secs
137, Jonathan McEvoy (Team NetApp-Endura) at 7 mins 43 secs
138, Martin Reimer (MTN-Qhubeka)
139, Youcef Reguigui (MTN-Qhubeka) at 7 mins 44 secs
140, Steven Van Vooren (An Post-Chainreaction) at 7 mins 47 secs
141, Julien Berard (AG2R La Mondiale)
142, William Clarke (Team Argos-Shimano) at 7 mins 49 secs
143, Arnaud Labbe (Cofidis, Solutions Credits) at 7 mins 50 secs
144, Jean-Luc Delpech (Bretagne-Seche Environnement)
145, Sjoerd Kouwenhoven (Cyclingteam De Rijke-Shanks)
146, Luigi Miletta (Vini Fantini-Selle Italia) at 7 mins 52 secs
147, Ralf Matzka (Team NetApp-Endura) at 7 mins 53 secs
148, Nicolas Vogondy (Accent Jobs-Wanty) at 7 mins 55 secs
149, Mikhail Ignatyev (Katusha) at 7 mins 57 secs
150, Timothy Vangheel (Team 3M) at 8 mins 1 secs
151, Benjamin Day (UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team) at 8 mins 23 secs
152, Alexander Gingsjö (Team People4You-Unaas Cycling) at 8 mins 26 secs
153, Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg (Team Argos-Shimano) at 8 mins 28 secs
154, Adrian Hegyvary (UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team) at 8 mins 32 secs
155, Jiao Pengda (Champion System Pro Cycling Team) at 8 mins 34 secs
156, Nikita Novikov (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team) at 8 mins 36 secs
157, Alexander Rybakov (RusVelo) at 8 mins 39 secs
158, Jonas Ahlstrand (Team Argos-Shimano) at 8 mins 41 secs
159, Benoit Jarrier (Bretagne-Seche Environnement) at 8 mins 47 secs
160, Frederique Robert (Lotto Belisol) at 9 mins 5 secs
161, Johann Van Zyl (MTN-Qhubeka) at 9 mins 19 secs
162, Wu Kin San (Champion System Pro Cycling Team) at 9 mins 20 secs
163, Mattia Pozzo (Vini Fantini-Selle Italia) at 9 mins 27 secs
164, Pieter Van Herck (Crelan-Euphony)
165, Ferekalsi Debesay Abrha (MTN-Qhubeka) at 10 mins 16 secs
166, Andy Cappelle (Accent Jobs-Wanty) at 10 mins 20 secs
167, Philip Lindau (Team People4You-Unaas Cycling) at 11 mins 56 secs