4 Jours de Dunkerque / Grand Prix des Hauts de France

Yves Lampaert, who is making this week his first outing since ending the spring classics on the Roubaix Velodrome, recorded an important jump in the general classification of the Quatre Jours de Dunkerque at the end of the hard Cassel stage, which delivered some gaps between the many contenders for victory.

Peppered by a total of twelve classified climbs, including the uphill finish that came after more than 170 kilometers, the penultimate stage of the race had plenty of action, but despite the many attacks and attempts coming from those hoping to prevent the stage from coming down to a fight on the last ascent, the traditional scenario didn’t change.

An acceleration of Samuel Watson (Ineos Grenadiers) in the final meters of Cassel propelled the Brit to both the win and the leader’s jersey. Former Belgian Champion Yves Lampaert had a strong display on the 1km climb which averaged 8.6%, coming home as the first Soudal Quick-Step rider and gaining fourteen places in the overall standings, where only six seconds separate him from the top ten with one day to go at the French race.

Photo credit: ©Luc Claessen / Getty Images