Matteo Moschetti (Q36.5) claimed the bunch dash within the GP Criquielion, out-pacing Hugo Hofstetter (Israel-Premier Tech) and teammate Giacomo Nizzolo.
“This is a big confidence boost for me and for the team,” Moschetti stated.
“It was tricky in the final with two climbs and the small roads, but we were always in the right position as a team. The last 500 meters were slightly uphill at 4-5% with a headwind, so it wasn’t a fast sprint, but in the end, everything worked perfectly.
“Profitable is all the time great, and having a teammate at the podium makes it even higher!”
Four riders made the day’s early breakaway, with Aivaras Mikutis (Tudor), Nicola Marcerou (TotalEnergies), Miguel Ángel Fernández (Kern Pharma) and Francisco Joel Peñuela (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) gaining over three minutes on the bunch.
But with a bunch sprint all but assured, the major teams pushed the escape group to the breaking point, and with 40km to go, Fernández and Peñuela lost contact. TotalEnergies sent Alexys Brunel across the gap with Lionel Taminiaux (Lotto), making it four in the lead again. Then, Marcerou let go of the leaders, too.
Crashes from Gerben Thijssen and Arne Marit put Intermarché-Wanty out of the pursuit, and they sent Luca Van Boven on the attack along with Andreas Stokbro (Unibet Tietema Rockets), Piet Allegaert (Cofidis) and Erik Resell (Uno-X Mobility).
The quartet joined the three remaining leaders but couldn’t hold off the charging peloton, which swept past with 3km to go.
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