As his nine top-ten placings this season attest, Russian rider Denis Galimzyanov has been banging on the door of a big win for several weeks now. His first was eighth on a stage of the Tour Down Under in January; since then, his stage placings have included third in the Tour of Qatar, second in the Tour of Oman and two third place finishes at Paris-Nice.
His speed finally carried him to the top of the peloton today when the 24 year old Team Katusha rider won a 69 man sprint to nab stage two of the KBC-Driedaagse De Panne-Koksijde. Galimzyagrnov powered in at the head of the group, beating John Degenkolb (HTC-Highroad) and Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale). Tomas Vaitkus (Pro Team Astana) and Romain Feillu (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team) were fourth and fifth, while overnight leader André Greipel missed a split in the wind and conceded over five minutes.
Lieuwe Westra (Vacansoleil-DCM) had been second on yesterday’s stage and placed second again in an intermediate sprint during the 219 kilometre race from Oudenaarde to Koksijde. That moved him level on time with Bert De Backer (Skil – Shimano), who had started the day second overall due to his own peformances in intermediate sprints yesterday.
Degenkolb is now two seconds back in third, as is Arnoud Van Groen (Veranda's Willems – Accent). Sagan and Dmitriy Muravyev (Team RadioShack) are a further two seconds in arrears.
“I was scared about the stage. I was really nervous and I had to take risks,” Westra admitted. “In my opinion Bradley Wiggins was my biggest threat for the general classification and he missed the first group. We will see if I am capable of keeping the jersey tomorrow. I fought for it yesterday and today…. The leaders jersey is a nice reward so far.”
The race leader’s jersey is a good reward for Westra, who was one of the strongest riders yesterday. His team-mate Stijn Devolder had also shown good condition but crashed today, losing over twelve minutes. He said afterwards that he was relatively uninjured and planned to finish the race in order to help his preparations for the Tour of Flanders.
Galimzyanov was very pleased to improve on his earlier high placings this season. “After the Oman and Paris-Nice podiums, now finally a victory. I´m very happy because it’s the first one since I became a pro.”
Things were complicated during the stage, though, and he had reason to be concerned at one point. “During the feed zone I was left behind and the group was broken in several pieces. Then, I helped Vladimir Gusev, our overall standings leader, to get back and reach the head of the race. In the final part of the race, I followed Vaitkus because I know him very well as a rider since when I was in the Under 23 team. He´s very strong but I´m faster than him in the final sprint.
“The Lithuanian rider of Astana started too early while I think instead to have adopted the right strategy, waiting for the last metres because of the strong headwind.”
Early break prompts splitting of bunch:
The day’s first move went on the early climb of the Tiegemberg, where Galimzyanov’s team-mate, the perennial attacker Mikhail Ignatiev, clipped away with Howard Leigh (HTC-Highroad), Mickaël Delage (FDJ), Rony Martias (Saur-Sojasun) and Steven Caethoven (Veranda’s Willems). They built a lead of almost six minutes, but had dropped considerably by the Kemmelberg (km 110).
The break was caught here, while the peloton split into three. The last of those groups didn’t get back in contact, meaning that big contenders such as overnight leader André Greipel (Omega Pharma Lotto) and Bradley Wiggins (Sky Procycling) lost a chunk of time and, with it, any chance of winning overall. Others who incurred serious time losses were former world champion Alessandro Ballan (BMC Racing), who punctured at a bad time and wasn’t reached by the car quickly, as well as Stijn Devolder (Vacansoleil) and Filippo Pozzato (Katusha).
Three riders clipped away 70 kilometers from the finish and tried to repeat the successful break of yesterday. They were Jimmy Engoulvent (Saur-Sojasun), Guillaume van Keirsbulck (Quick Step) and Arnoud van Groen (Verandas Willems), and together they opened a minute’s lead. They were all eventually reeled in before the finish, though, enabling Galimzyanov to net his debut pro win.
“Tomorrow there will be another sprinter’s stage, in which I think I can have my say again, depending on the weather conditions,” he said. “If the weather is good, a massive sprint is likely. If it rains, the group could be broken up in several pieces and in that case the situation will be hard to manage. For now, I want to enjoy my victory.”
Westra will also want to savour the race lead. He faces two tests tomorrow; the first is a 111 kilometre road stage to De Panne, while the second is what will be a decisive 14.7 kilometre time trial in Tijdrit.