Corbin Strong (NSN) claimed an emphatic victory in the Circuit Franco-Belge, holding off Anders Foldager (Jayco-AlUla) and Giro d'Italia points classification winner Paul Magnier (Soudal-QuickStep).
The Kiwi timed his effort perfectly in the uphill finish, kicking early as Magnier struggled to get on top of his gear. The Frenchman was uncharacteristically bogged down and was passed by Foldager just before the line.
The Pro Series race victory is Strong's first since last year's Arctic Race of Norway and comes after Strong went up against an unbeatable Magnier during the Giro d'Italia.
"The last few days since the Giro started to feel all right. I really enjoyed this race, so it was one I wanted to recover well from after the Giro and come here and get a good result. So I'm, I'm really happy to win today," Strong said.
"It's a big relief. It hasn't been an easy start to the season. I think when I've been fit and healthy and had a good run at a race, I've been in good shape, but there have been very few opportunities, I think, for me - a lot of crashes and illness in the first part of the year - so to come here and get a win is a really nice feeling."
The Circuit Franco-Belge, a 195.6-kilometre race from Tournai with one 50-kilomtre loop followed by five 22.7km circuits ending on the Mont-de-l'Enclus. Each of the local laps includes two climbs - the Col du Horlitin and the tougher Côte de Trieu-Knokteberg (1.2km at 7.4%) - with an uphill finish.
Timo Roosen (Picnic PostNL), Andrea Pietrobon (Polti VisitMalta), Artur Torney (Flanders-Baloise), Alexys Brunel (TotalEnergies), Iker Gómez (Equipo Kern Pharma), Axel van der Tuuk (Euskaltel - Euskadi), Léandre Huck (Van Rysel Roubaix), Jocelyn Baguelin (Aarco) and Luca Cretti (MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort) made up the early breakaway, but as the television cameras turned on, their nearly two-minute lead evaporated to just a handful of seconds with 78km to go.
As the gap hovered in the double digits, Torney, Brunel, Gomez, and Van der Tuuk split from the rest of the lead group, but while the group reformed, Brunel attacked and rode solo until 65km to go when all of the escapees were back in the peloton with three laps to go.
With 61km to go, Leander Van Hautegem (Flanders Baloise) put in a stinging attack and was joined by Wilco Kelderman (Visma-Lease a Bike) and they were able to gain over a minute on the peloton. But the young Belgian struggled as the gap began to drop, and lost contact with Kelderman on the Col du Horlitin with 41km to go.
As Visma-Lease a Bike were more than happy to just follow the attacks with sprinter Matthew Brennan in the group, Groupama-FDJ United took a chance with 32km to go, with Cofidis and NSN joining in to try and break up the peloton. It didn't work, but the acceleration slashed Kelderman's lead to just 15 seconds with 30km to go.
Sensing a chance to bridge across, an attack came with 26.5km to go from Johan Jacons (Groupama-FDJ United), with Colby Simmons (EF Education-EasyPost) and De Bondt joining in. They made it to Kelderman at the start of the final lap but with a margin over the peloton of just 17 seconds at 22.7km left for the peloton to shut down.
Simmons, unable or unwilling to take a pull, was ridden out the back of the lead group by De Bondt, leaving Kelderman and Jacobs at the front, dooming the breakaway as the Visma rider had little interest in pushing the pace. The peloton was all together on the final ascent of the Horlitin.
The sprinters now had to survive the Knokteberg, but De Bondt tried yet again to force a breakaway. While he was joined by five riders, they were shut down before the climb. Visma-Lease a Bike countered the attack, with Louis Barré forcing the pace to shell some of the sprinters.
Arnaud De Lie (Lotto-Intermarché) was the most notable victim of the pace, and while Barré was caught before the top, Visma had to work to bring Brennan back into the race. And, as they made contact, an short-lived attack flew off the front, keeping the pace high to prevent any more sprinters from rejoining.
Soudal-QuickStep took control of the final kilometres for Magnier, but had to drop back to bring him forward. Riley Sheehan (NSN) came to the front early to push the pace for Corbin Strong, who duly took the lead and the sprint victory with apparent ease.
Results
Pos |
Rider |
Time |
|---|---|---|
1 |
Corbin John Strong (NZl) NSN Cycling Team |
04:32:18 |
2 |
Anders Foldager (Den) Jayco-AlUla |
00:00:00 |
3 |
Paul Magnier (Fra) Soudal-QuickStep |
00:00:00 |
4 |
Rick Pluimers (Ned) Tudor Pro Cycling |
00:00:00 |
5 |
Jenno Berckmoes (Bel) Lotto-Intermarché |
00:00:00 |
6 |
Francisco Joel Peñuela Sandoval (Ven) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA |
00:00:00 |
7 |
Clement Venturini (Fra) Unibet Rose Rockets |
00:00:00 |
8 |
Eduard Prades Reverter (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA |
00:00:00 |
9 |
Marijn van den Berg (Ned) EF Education-EasyPost |
00:00:00 |
10 |
Alexandre Delettre (Fra) Totalenergies |
00:00:03 |
11 |
Elias Maris (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise |
00:00:03 |
12 |
Jonas Abrahamsen (Nor) Uno-X Mobility |
00:00:03 |
13 |
Axel Huens (Fra) Groupama-FDJ United |
00:00:03 |
14 |
Matthew Brennan (GBr) Visma-Lease a Bike |
00:00:03 |
15 |
Mats Wenzel (Lux) Equipo Kern Pharma |
00:00:03 |
16 |
Cyril Barthe (Fra) Groupama-FDJ United |
00:00:03 |
17 |
Aime de Gendt (Bel) Pinarello-Q36.5 |
00:00:07 |
18 |
Lorenzo Rota (Ita) Lotto-Intermarché |
00:00:07 |
19 |
Marcin Budzinski (Pol) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort |
00:00:07 |
20 |
Joris Delbove (Fra) Totalenergies |
00:00:07 |
21 |
Lander Loockx (Bel) Unibet Rose Rockets |
00:00:09 |
22 |
Dario Igor Belletta (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta |
00:00:13 |
23 |
Milan Vader (Ned) Pinarello-Q36.5 |
00:00:13 |
24 |
Joppe Heremans (Bel) Van Rysel Roubaix |
00:00:13 |
25 |
Milan Lanhove (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise |
00:00:15 |
26 |
Ward Vanhoof (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise |
00:00:15 |
27 |
Xabier Berasategi Garmendia (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi |
00:00:18 |
28 |
Alexander Kamp (Den) Uno-X Mobility |
00:00:18 |
29 |
Gabriele Bessega (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta |
00:00:21 |
30 |
Dylan Teuns (Bel) Cofidis |
00:00:21 |
31 |
Fausto Masnada (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort |
00:00:21 |
32 |
Márton Dina (Hun) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort |
00:00:25 |
33 |
Joren Bloem (Ned) Unibet Rose Rockets |
00:00:27 |
34 |
Menno Huising (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike |
00:00:27 |
35 |
Edoardo Zamperini (Ita) Cofidis |
00:00:31 |
36 |
Francisco Muñoz Llana (Spa) Polti-VisitMalta |
00:00:37 |
37 |
Pierre Thierry (Fra) Totalenergies |
00:00:38 |
38 |
Aaron Dockx (Bel) Alpecin-Premier Tech |
00:00:38 |
39 |
Alex Aranburu Deva (Spa) Cofidis |
00:00:45 |
40 |
Riley Sheehan (USA) NSN Cycling Team |
00:00:54 |
41 |
Sylvain Moniquet (Bel) Cofidis |
00:01:00 |
42 |
Harm Vanhoucke (Bel) Pinarello-Q36.5 |
00:01:06 |
43 |
Javier Serrano Rodriguez (Spa) Polti-VisitMalta |
00:01:21 |
44 |
Dries de Bondt (Bel) Jayco-AlUla |
00:01:21 |
45 |
Xabier Isasa Larrañaga (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi |
00:01:25 |
46 |
Ellande Larronde (Fra) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA |
00:01:25 |
47 |
Filippo Fiorelli (Ita) Visma-Lease a Bike |
00:01:26 |
48 |
Vincenzo Albanese (Ita) EF Education-EasyPost |
00:01:26 |
49 |
Daniel Smajkic Årnes (Nor) Van Rysel Roubaix |
00:01:26 |
50 |
Arthur Kluckers (Lux) Tudor Pro Cycling |
00:01:26 |
51 |
Louis Barre (Fra) Visma-Lease a Bike |
00:01:26 |
52 |
Florian Senechal (Fra) Alpecin-Premier Tech |
00:01:26 |
53 |
Tom van Asbroeck (Bel) NSN Cycling Team |
00:01:26 |
54 |
Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike |
00:01:26 |
55 |
Axel Zingle (Fra) Visma-Lease a Bike |
00:01:32 |
56 |
Antonio Jesus Soto Guirao (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma |
00:01:32 |
57 |
Jordi Lopez Caravaca (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi |
00:01:33 |
58 |
Camille Charret (Fra) Cofidis |
00:01:33 |
59 |
Loe van Belle (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike |
00:01:37 |
60 |
David Haverdings (Ned) Alpecin-Premier Tech Development Team |
00:01:39 |
61 |
Olivier le Gac (Fra) Groupama-FDJ United |
00:01:41 |
62 |
Stan van Tricht (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step Devo Team |
00:01:53 |
63 |
Fabio van den Bossche (Bel) Soudal-QuickStep |
00:01:55 |
64 |
Gil Gelders (Bel) Soudal-QuickStep |
00:01:55 |
65 |
Matys Grisel (Fra) Lotto-Intermarché |
00:01:55 |
66 |
Clement Izquierdo (Fra) Cofidis |
00:01:55 |
67 |
Wessel Mouris (Ned) Unibet Rose Rockets |
00:01:58 |
68 |
Andrea Raccagni Noviero (Ita) Soudal-QuickStep |
00:02:00 |
69 |
Joe Pidcock (GBr) Pinarello-Q36.5 |
00:02:02 |
70 |
Axel van der Tuuk (Ned) Euskaltel-Euskadi |
00:02:02 |
71 |
Ivan Cobo Cayon (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma |
00:03:24 |
72 |
Colby Simmons (USA) EF Education-EasyPost |
00:03:29 |
73 |
Rasmus Tiller (Nor) Uno-X Mobility |
00:03:36 |
74 |
Noah Hobbs (GBr) EF Education-EasyPost |
00:03:38 |
75 |
Johan Jacobs (Swi) Groupama-FDJ United |
00:03:38 |
76 |
Vincent van Hemelen (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise |
00:03:51 |
77 |
Sebastian Kolze Changizi (Den) Tudor Pro Cycling |
00:04:23 |
78 |
Marc Brustenga Masague (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma |
00:04:23 |
79 |
Henrik Pedersen (Den) Uno-X Mobility |
00:04:50 |
80 |
Titouan Fontaine (Fra) Groupama-FDJ United |
00:04:50 |
81 |
Javier Ibañez Beltran de Salazar (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA |
00:04:50 |
82 |
Leander van Hautegem (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise |
00:04:50 |
83 |
Floris van Tricht (Bel) NSN Cycling Team |
00:04:50 |
84 |
Robin Orins (Bel) Lotto-Intermarché |
00:04:50 |
85 |
Brem Deman (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise |
00:04:50 |
86 |
Joran Wyseure (Bel) Alpecin-Premier Tech Development Team |
00:04:50 |
87 |
Davide Bais (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta |
00:04:50 |
88 |
Gotzon Martin Sanz (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi |
00:05:09 |
89 |
Casper Cornelis van Uden (Ned) Picnic PostNL |
00:05:09 |
90 |
Arnaud de Lie (Bel) Lotto-Intermarché |
00:05:40 |
91 |
Nicola Marcerou (Fra) Totalenergies |
00:05:40 |
92 |
Petr Kelemen (Cze) Tudor Pro Cycling |
00:05:40 |
93 |
Jasper Verbrugge (Bel) Hagens Berman Jayco |
00:05:40 |
94 |
Jocelyn Baguelin (Fra) Aarco |
00:05:40 |
95 |
Gilles Dockx (Bel) Aarco |
00:05:40 |
96 |
Lucas Jacques (Bel) Color Code-Alu Center |
00:05:40 |
97 |
Gari Ugarte Larrea (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi |
00:05:40 |
98 |
Iker Gomez Lopez de Goicoechea (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma |
00:05:40 |
99 |
Antonio Polga (Ita) Novo Nordisk |
00:05:40 |
100 |
Abram Stockman (Bel) Unibet Rose Rockets |
00:05:40 |
101 |
Matthijs de Clercq (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step Devo Team |
00:05:40 |
102 |
Adam Ťoupalík (Cze) Unibet Rose Rockets |
00:05:40 |
103 |
Louis Sutton (GBr) Euskaltel-Euskadi |
00:05:40 |
104 |
Frederik Frison (Bel) Pinarello-Q36.5 |
00:05:40 |
105 |
Ko Molenaar (Ned) Development Team Picnic Postnl |
00:05:40 |
106 |
Julius van den Berg (Ned) Picnic PostNL |
00:05:40 |
107 |
Erik Nordsaeter Resell (Nor) Uno-X Mobility |
00:05:40 |
108 |
Luca Cretti (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort |
00:05:40 |
109 |
Carl-Frederik Bévort (Den) Uno-X Mobility |
00:05:40 |
110 |
Johan Meens (Bel) Aarco |
00:05:40 |
111 |
Alexis Renard (Fra) Cofidis |
00:05:40 |
112 |
Toon Aerts (Bel) Lotto-Intermarché |
00:05:40 |
113 |
Matthias Schwarzbacher (Svk) EF Education-EasyPost |
00:06:05 |
114 |
Maxence Place (Bel) Aarco |
00:09:18 |
115 |
Márk Valent (Hun) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort |
00:09:22 |
116 |
Alexys Brunel (Fra) Totalenergies |
00:10:00 |
117 |
Lindsay de Vylder (Bel) Alpecin-Premier Tech |
00:12:00 |
DNF |
Umberto Poli (Ita) Novo Nordisk |
|
DNF |
Camille Caillet (Bel) Color Code-Alu Center |
|
DNF |
Victor Hannes (Bel) Aarco |
|
DNF |
Kévin Avoine (Fra) Van Rysel Roubaix |
|
DNF |
Sam Brand (GBr) Novo Nordisk |
|
DNF |
Quinten de Graeve (Bel) Novo Nordisk |
|
DNF |
Filippo Ridolfo (Ita) Novo Nordisk |
|
DNF |
Matteo Melotte (Bel) Color Code-Alu Center |
|
DNF |
Julien Desmarets (Bel) Color Code-Alu Center |
|
DNF |
Samuele Zoccarato (Ita) MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort |
|
DNF |
Oscar Loy (Bel) Aarco |
|
DNF |
Léandre Huck (Fra) Van Rysel Roubaix |
|
DNF |
Léopold Dallemagne (Bel) |
|
DNF |
Maxime Jarnet (Fra) Van Rysel Roubaix |
|
DNF |
Juan Jose Lopez Rodriguez (Spa) Novo Nordisk |
|
DNF |
Declan Thomas Irvine (Aus) Novo Nordisk |
|
DNF |
Mathias Guillemette (Can) Tudor Pro Cycling Team U23 |
|
DNF |
Nicholas Schultz (Aus) NSN Cycling Team |
|
DNF |
Jelte Krijnsen (Ned) Jayco-AlUla |
|
DNF |
Mattia Sambinello (Ita) Hagens Berman Jayco |
|
DNF |
Nils Eekhoff (Ned) Picnic PostNL |
|
DNF |
Timo Roosen (Ned) Picnic PostNL |
|
DNF |
Lewis Bower (NZl) Groupama-FDJ United |
|
DNF |
Arvid de Kleijn (Ned) Tudor Pro Cycling |
|
DNF |
Joes Oosterlinck (Bel) Van Rysel Roubaix |
|
DNF |
Seppe van den Boer (Bel) Tudor Pro Cycling Team U23 |
|
DNF |
Artuur Torney (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise |
|
DNF |
Andrea Pietrobon (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta |
|
DNF |
Gabriele Raccagni (Ita) Polti-VisitMalta |
|
DNF |
Sam Bennett (Irl) Pinarello-Q36.5 |
|
DNF |
Iker Villar Galdeano (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA |
|
DNF |
Christiaan van Rees (Ned) Development Team Picnic Postnl |
|
DNF |
Zachary Marriage (Aus) Nsn Development Team |
|
DNF |
Hugo Wertz (Bel) Color Code-Alu Center |
|
DNF |
Théo Demarcin (Bel) Color Code-Alu Center |
|
DNF |
Sandy Dujardin (Fra) Totalenergies |
|
DNF |
Valentin Retailleau (Fra) Totalenergies |
|
DNF |
Luca van Boven (Bel) Lotto-Intermarché |
|
DNF |
Filippo Conca (Ita) Jayco-AlUla |
|
DNF |
Moritz Kretschy (Ger) NSN Cycling Team |
|
DNF |
Guillaume Daix (Bel) Color Code-Alu Center |
|
DNF |
Maurice Ballerstedt (Ger) Alpecin-Premier Tech |
|
DNF |
Sjoerd Bax (Ned) Pinarello-Q36.5 |
|
DNF |
Jonas Hem Hvideberg (Nor) Uno-X Mobility |
|
DNF |
Sergio Romeo Abad (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma |
|
DNF |
Iñigo Elosegui Momeñe (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma |
|
DNF |
Rory Townsend (Irl) Unibet Rose Rockets |
|
DNF |
Ayco Bastiaens (Bel) Soudal-QuickStep |
|
DNS |
Kenny Molly (Bel) Van Rysel Roubaix |
