Our team animated the penultimate day of the World Tour race.
Before the final showdown on the slopes of the iconic Muur on Sunday afternoon, the peloton had another flat stage on the menu, this time from Oostburg to Aalter, where they had to take on two local laps.
The 178.5km stage was suited to the sprinters, but other riders hoped to foil their plans, so went on the attack early. One of these was Soudal Quick-Step’s Ayco Bastiaens, who took off joining a solid breakaway group which stayed at the front until 80 kilometers to go. Minutes after they got caught, Bert Van Lerberghe made a move together with four men, putting more than a minute between them and the chasers.
Their effort and turns in the group were strong, but despite all these, it was impossible for the five to hold off an entire bunch, which reeled them in with ten kilometers to go. In the sprint, Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) prevailed, while Ilan Van Wilder concluded safely in the peloton and retained his position in the GC. The Belgian will be hoping to improve his place at the end of the final stage, especially as only a couple of seconds separate him from the top ten.
Photo credit: ©Luc Claessen / Getty Images
