Seven kilometers from the end, when Jens Debusschere just had a puncture, the escapees were caught. Lars Boom set up a late attack, but in the final kilometer he was caught. German national champion André Greipel sprinted to victory on his Ridley Noah FAST, before his fellow countryman John Degenkolb and Nacer Bouhanni.
André Greipel: “We started with the idea to try to win this race, everybody was very motivated. The whole team really deserved the victory today, because we took the responsibility. The guys really did a great job to keep the break close enough, between a 1′ and 1’30” gap. Everybody of us was committed to prepare for a bunch sprint. This was good teamwork. It turned out well and I’m really happy. Every victory is special, but certainly here in Brussels as we are a Belgian team. The sponsors and riders are happy with the victory.”
