Dutchman already impressive in recent Critérium International
Pim Ligthart (Vacansoleil) sprinted to victory in the Hel van het Mergelland on Saturday, continuing his strong showing in his inaugural season as a professional. He recently won the mountains jersey at the Critérium International. In the Mergelland race, he left some noted names like former Tour de France stage winner Samuel Dumoulin (Cofidis) and Italian Champion Giovanni Visconti (Farnese Vini – Neri Sottoli) behind.
Ligthart is a strong sprinter and showed it when he came out ahead in the Hel van het Mergelland in a group of a good two dozen riders. He was thankful that it actually came to a sprint in the end. “I was keeping favorites like Dumoulin and Visconti in check, but was hoping that it would stick all together.”
He also still had several teammates in the group who helped ensuring a bunch sprint, where Ligthart made no mistakes. “The parcours suited me well and I also liked the finishing straight in Eijsden.”
His recent win of the climber’s jersey at the Critérium International gave him confidence. “I knew I could win and I made this my first real goal of the season. It is nice that it worked out that way.”
Ligthart was ahead of Federico Canuti and Dumoulin. Critérium International stage winner Simon Geschke finished fourth, Visconti was sixth in the end.
Results
1. LIGTHART Pim [NED] VCD 5h00’39″
2. CANUTI Federico [ITA] COG
3. DUMOULIN Samuel [FRA] COF
4. GESCHKE Simon [GER] SKS
5. PAVARIN Marcello [ITA] VCD
6. VISCONTI Giovanni [ITA] FAR
7. CAMMAERTS Edwig [BEL] LAN
8. HUPOND Thierry [FRA] SKS
9. DE WAELE Bert [BEL] LAN
10. TANNER David [AUS] SBS