German wunderkind racks up yet another as the spring weather slicks up the course
Marcel Kittel (Argos-Shimano) made it victory number five for the season, getting a first win for his team’s new sponsor, as took first place in the 100th edition of the Scheldeprijs. The German sprinter proved to be the fastest of what was a much-reduced peloton at the end of the 202km course, as crashes on the rain-slick roads saw many of his sprint rivals hit the tarmac in the closing stages.
2010 winner Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Barracuda) finished a close second to the German wunderkind, just ahead of former track World champion Theo Bos (Rabobank), whose team had led into the final metres.
“I am especially glad that I have been able to win the 100th edition,” said Kittel to the Sporza TV cameras. “The finale was very hectic. There were a lot of sprinters together and I really had to jump from wheel to wheel.
“I was a bit boxed in, but was lucky that I still had clear path,” he added.
Kittel becomes the third German to win the prestigious sprinters’ race, after Didi Thurau in 1978, and Erik Zabel in 1997.
"It was a very tough sprint, even with the rain,” Kittel explained. “I'm really glad that I'm on the roll of honour. This is a race that every sprinter dreams of.”
The sprint came only after the seven-man break of avid Boucher (FDJ-BigMat), Kevin Claeys (Landbouwkrediet-Euphony), Kevin Van Melsen (Accent.jobs-Willems Verandas), Kevin Hulsmans (Farnese Vini-Selle Italia), Simon Lambert-Lemay (Spidertech p/b C10), Wu Kin San (Champion System) and Sven Vandousselaere (Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator) was pulled back in the last of three 16.4km finishing circuits. Hulsmans held out the longest, but was finally captured just inside the final ten kilometres.
As usual, a number of teams attempted to take control of the peloton in the final kilometres, but increasingly heavy rain made the cobbles and city streets slick, and a number of crashes saw several race favourites left behind.
No hills to worry the sprinters but the breakaway needs to be controlled
The 202km course, beginning in Antwerp and taking in a wide circuit around the flat countryside to the east of the city, was to finish with its usual three 16.4km laps around the town of Schoten. With no classified climbs in the entire route - although it would cross a number of sections of cobbles, including the 1700 metre long Broekstraat halfway around the finishing circuit - the race was almost certain to finish in a sprint.
The race would start without 2011 winner, World champion Mark Cavendish (Team Sky), however, since the Manxman’s partner Peta Todd gave birth to their first daughter the night before the race.
The attack from Boucher, Claeys, Van Melsen, Hulsmans and Lambert-Lemay came after just 15km, and 20km later they were chased and joined by Wu and Vandousselaere before they had gone too far. The group, which now numbered seven, was allowed to build a lead of 8’20” in the first hour of the race before there was any kind of reaction from the peloton.
The sprinters’ teams in the peloton steadily closed the gap in the second hour of the race, and after 90km it was down to just 4’45”. A railway crossing closed between the break and the peloton however, allowing the gap to widen a little wider; this, coupled with a lack of urgency from the sprinters, meant that with 85km to go it was up to 5’39”.
As the course wound its way around the towns and villages of Loenhout, Hoogstraten, Oostmalle, and Lille - that play host to the cyclocross races of the Gazet van Antwerpen Trofee and Superprestige series - Telenet-Fidea’s Tom Meeusen could be seen amongst the crowd as he enjoyed the race in the middle of a training ride.
Lotto-Belisol was now in control of the peloton, along with Argos-Shimano and Garmin-Barracuda, but the teams were still allowing the break some freedom. With 80km to go the gap had slipped out to 5’42’, but this was to be as far as it would get, as RusVelo also joined the chase, and the speed began to rise.
With 60km to go the gap was down to 4’31”. Shortly afterwards Team Sky positioned itself at the front of the peloton, riding for Cavendish’s lead out man Bernhard Eisel, in the absence of the World champion.
Tom Boonen stretches his legs as the peloton closes in on the break
Omega Pharma-Quick Step’s Tom Boonen accelerated out of the front of the peloton as it hit the Broekstraat for the first time, followed by Kevin Peeters (Landbouwkrediet-Euphony); the two were quickly closed down, but the Ronde van Vlaanderen winner continued to lead the peloton as it left the cobbled section and hit the banks of the Schelde.
After a few kilometres of stringing out the peloton, the legwarmer-clad former World champion decided that he had had enough of a workout for now, and allowed the Vacansoleil-DCM and Katusha teams to sweep past him.
As they crossed the finish line for the first time, with 49.2km to go, the seven leaders were just 3’15” ahead of the peloton, which was now led by Lotto-Belisol. With the pace up front beginning to drop, Hulsmans put in a little false attack to try to jolt a little more speed out of his companions.
As the peloton hit the Broekstraat for the second time, 2’43” behind the leaders, Vladimir Isaichev (Katusha) attacked in the same way that Boonen had done previously. Unlike Boonen, the Russian was allowed to briefly get away, before Omega Pharma-Quick Step caught up with him again as they hit the banks of the Schelde again.
This was the cue for another Boonen workout, as the big Belgian hit the front of his team’s train once more.
Across the line with two laps to go, the seven were still working together well, but they were now only 1’40” ahead of the peloton, which was still led by Boonen. A light drizzle, which had begun to fall, was getting heavier however, making the first few tight corners of the circuit slippery, and there was a crash in the second half of the peloton involving a number of riders from FDJ-BigMat and Saxo Bank, as well as Boonen’s usual lead out man Nikolas Maes.
As the peloton left the city it was in two large pieces, with Boonen still leading the first.
Into the final 25km, and with the front half of the peloton just 42 seconds behind, Hulsmans put in a far more meaningful attack as he approached the Broekstraat. Boucher and Vandousselaere fought their way up to him on the cobbles, followed by Claeys, but it was over for the other three, who were quickly swallowed up by the group behind them.
Team NetApp now took over the peloton, although Boonen briefly moved ahead of them again, and, as they entered the last 20km, the remaining four were just 25 seconds ahead.
The sprinters teams wind it up but the rain is getting heavier
As the quartet approached the bell, the second half of the peloton finally made contact with the first, and was now just 12 seconds behind. As the peloton tiptoed around the slick, twisty corners, it grew to 15 seconds with 15km to go, but soon began to come down again under the impetus of Astana.
With the peloton in sight behind them, Vandousselaere attacked the break, Hulsmans chased across to the Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator rider and, finding him unable to contribute further, went right by.
Garmin-Barracuda was now organised, just nine seconds behind him though, and the Belgian’s days were surely numbered; just after he passed under the 10km to go banner, ‘Hulse’ was finally caught and the sprinters’ teams began to jostle for position. Team Sky led onto the Broekstraat for the final time, keeping the pace high to prevent attacks. On the slick cobbled surface, midway back through the peloton however, a crash brought down several riders.
The rain was coming down heavily now, as the race entered the final 5km, as Saxo Bank joined Sky at the front, and Lotto-Belisol, Argos-Shimano, and Garmin-Barracuda began to fight them for supremacy over what was now a small peloton.
Another crash in the final two kilometres saw Astana sprinter Jacopo Guarnieri taken out by FDJ-BigMat’s Yauheni Hutarovich as the Belarusian came down very close to the front, leaving just thirty riders to contest the finish.
Rabobank led into the final kilometre and Mark Renshaw launched Bos towards the line. The former kilometre World champion still had a lot of ground to recover though, and Farrar and Kittel were drawing alongside. As they hit the line the German just managed to get his wheel in front to take the victory, before hurriedly slowing down down again in the run off area.
Having crossed the line, there was another crash, as Sébastien Turgot (Europcar) came down; Australian Jonathan Cantwell (Saxo Bank) was among those brought down and he left the race by ambulance. One of the crashing sprinters collided with the photographers, with one of them also being taken to hospital with a fractured jaw.