Philippe Gilbert (Quick Step Floors) took his first win of the season at the Driedaagse De Panne-Koksijde today and in doing so became the first Belgian Champion to win a stage at the race since 2005. The 34-year-old soloed to victory after going clear on the final climb of the Muur-Kapelmuur.
Gilbert’s team-mate Dries Devenyns put in an impressive amount of work in the select group that went clear, helping to ensure victory for the Belgian champion on a day that included 11 classified climbs packed between De Panne and Zottegem, on a 206km-long route.
Devenyns managed to get into the group that went clear 80 kilometres from the finish and patiently waited for Gilbert to bridge across, which he did with a vicious attack on the Muur van Geraardsbergen. The newly-formed group enjoyed at first a slim lead, of just 20 seconds, but thanks to some huge and relentless turns of Devenyns, the gap went out to 40 seconds inside the final 30 kilometres.
The chasing group was led by four Katusha riders, and despite having the numbers, they couldn’t match Devenyns’ efforts, which allowed the group to start the Muur with a healthy margin of half a minute.
On the steep cobbles of the legendary hill, Gilbert and distanced the rest of the group, crossing the top with five seconds in hand over Luke Durbridge (Orica-Scott).
Only 16 kilometres separated him from the finish after Kapelmuur, and on the long and wide roads to Zottegem, which included one last climb (Klemhoutstraat), the Quick-Step Floors rider never looked behind and extended his lead on the Australian, a former national time trial champion, arriving at the finish line solo and celebrating his first success since conquering the Belgian title last June.
“To finally get a victory in this beautiful jersey, and for Quick-Step Floors, makes me very happy! I want to thank to my team, and especially to Dries, whose hard-work at the front was quintessential. Now I’m at the top of the overall standings, but I know it won’t be easy to defend my position, so we’ll just take it day by day”, said Gilbert, who leads the general classification by 22 seconds following his first career win at Driedaagse De Panne-Koksijde.
At the end of the week, Gilbert will ride the Ronde van Vlaanderen for the seventh time and he is aware this win will make him a marked rider: “I know that people will now say that I’m one of the favourites for De Ronde and it’s no secret that I would like to win it. My condition is good, I look forward to the race, but to be frankly, the most important thing is for the team to win there. We have many options and in-form riders, and it will be all about playing the right card in the right moment.”
