Victor Campenaerts (Lotto-Dstny) outsprinted Rasmus Tiller (Uno-X) in a two-man duel to the line at the one-day Druivenkoers-Overijse on Saturday, with the win the Belgian's first of the year.
Jasper De Buyst (Lotto-Dstny) took the field sprint for third place, crossing the line 10 seconds behind the duo.
“We started really ambitious and took the race into our hands," Campenaerts said. "But we played it smart and thanks to the team tactics we were never really forced to chase. That way, I could play my cards on the right moment and it was nice to get away with my former teammate Rasmus Tiller.
"But I know he’s really fast, that’s why I didn’t ride in the final two kilometres because I had our fast guy Jasper De Buyst behind me. I dared to play the game and it turned out great. To be on the podium with my Tour de France roomie and vlog mate Jasper De Buyst is fantastic.”
The 185.6km Druivenkoers-Overijse included 27 hills and ended with four finishing circuits laps in Overijse, Belgium.
The breakaway of the day was formed on the second climb of the Stroobantsstraat. Ryan Christensen (Bolton Equities Black Spoke), Gage Hecht (Human Powered Health), Dietmar Ledegen (Baloise Trek Lions), Andreas Goeman (Materiel-velo.com) and Abram Stockman (TDT-Unibet) were soon joined by Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Pro Cycling Team) and Karl Patrick Lauk (Bingoal WB) to make it seven riders up the road.
The breakaway and the peloton shattered on the first ascent of the Horenberg leaving twenty riders in the front group. Having missed the split, Campenaerts bridged up with a few more riders on his wheel.
In the last finishing lap, Campenaerts and Tiller escaped with a 35 seconds gap on the chasers, enough time to focus on the final two-up dash to the line. Tiller opened up his sprint first but Campenaerts was able to come around to take the victory.
