Quick Step’s Niki Terpstra has won the E3 Harelbeke race.
This 206.5km race started and finished at the E3 Arena in Harelbeke and the course included four sector of cobblestones and fifteen hills.
Eight riders in Consonni, Gaudin, Korsaeth, Lecroq, Ligthart, Oliveira, Spengler and Van Melsen got away, taking a lead of six minutes with 150kms to go.
They were pulled back slightly before there was a massive crash in Schorisse which split the peloton into two groups with over ninety seconds between the two groups.
The World Champion was in this first group and he worked to catch the break with only Gaudin of Direct Energie and Pim Ligthart able to stay away.
Niki Terpstra of Quick Step and Yves Lampaert joined them and then set off on their own.
Lampaert left Terpstra to it and he went over the Paterberg and Kwaremont hill climbs and over the Karnemelkbeekstraat cobbles chased by Philippe Gilbert, who dropped back into a chasing group with Kung, Roelandts, Van Avermaet, Benoot, Naesen, Stuyven, Moscon and Matteo Trentin.
Niki Terpstra had been on the front for over seventy kilometres and there was no way that he was going to let himself be caught and he rode away to take a superb victory in 5.03.34, twenty seconds ahead of Gilbert and Greg Van Avermaet.
Terpstra said: "This is one of the biggest wins of my career and the fact that it came in such an important race gives me even more pleasure. It wouldn't have been possible without this awesome team, the way they all rode today – from Tim and Iljo who spent a ridiculous amount of energy at the front of the bunch and Philippe, Florian and Zdenek who reeled in every move to Yves' fantastic effort – this was a perfect display of the Wolfpack spirit", said Niki after becoming the first Dutchman in 15 years to nail the victory in E3 Harelbeke.
"I was disappointed after last year, when I came out of the season winless, but the hard work in the winter paid off today and now I'm very happy. The success in Le Samyn gave me a lot of confidence and showed me I'm on the right track. Many thought we were crazy to attack 74 kilometers out, but we knew we could make something special today. The toughest moment came on the highway, inside the last ten kilometers, but I didn't crack and rode my heart out there, managing to finish off the team's brilliant effort with this win."
KEV MONKS FOR DIGITAL SPORTS GROUP
Source: DSG
