Roy Curvers took a solo win at the Belgium Halle-Ingooigem race, crossing the line after 201 kilometers five seconds ahead of Pieter Jacobs (Topsport Vlaanderen) and seven seconds clear of a sextet. Those six riders included Greg van Avermaet (BMC), who ended up in fourth place, one spot behind Gianni Meersman (Française des Jeux).
For Curvers, the win meant a lot. "This is my first victory as a professional, so it is the best win of my career," he said to hln.be. His biggest success so far was a win at the Olympia's tour. "It is unbelievable," the exhausted Curvers said. "It cost a lot of power, but I really like courses like these." He kept a close eye on key rivals. "When Frederik Veuchelen went all out in the final, I knew I had to react. I played it all or nothing - and it became all!"
Third-placed Meersmann tried it all on the finishing straight. "I was unable to catch Curvers," he said. "I felt really good." Tactical plays may have prevented a better result for the Française des Jeux rider. "I was the best rider in that race." But it wasn't planned that way. "I really only wanted to come here for training for Nationals. But then I felt that more was possible."
In the end it came down to not paying attention. "In the last few kilometers I was the fittest, but I let myself get surprised. You can be the strong, but the third place has a little bit of a sour taste," Meersmann said.
The select group took off less than ten kilometers from the line and was able to hold off the bunch by a good half minute.
The race, as the last test before the Belgian Championships on Sunday, was quite active. But it took almost 70 kilometers, until a 15-man break formed. Johnny Hoogerland (Vacansoleil) shredded it down to half-dozen strong group. They had 90 seconds with 50 kilometers to go - that was not enough.