The Quatre Jours de Dunkerque appetizer belonged to the fast men.
The first edition of the Classique Dunkerque promised lots of attacks and plenty of opportunity for those determined to foil the sprinters’ plans, but in the end – despite the presence of five climbs and some heavy rain in the final kilometers – the race came down to a mass gallop in Lens.
Four riders formed a breakaway early, building a gap of seven minutes, but the peloton chased them down and made the catch before the last hill, where others riders tried their luck. These too were reeled in by the fast men teams’, who kept things together also in the closing ten kilometers, when a crash took place.
The victory went to Pascal Ackermann (Israel-Premier Tech), while Antoine Huby – racing for just the second time since coming back from injury – concluded the Classique Dunkerque was the first Soudal Quick-Step rider to roll over the line.
Photo credit: ©Luc Claessen / Getty Images
