Xandro Meurisse continued the winning run of Wanty-Groupe Gobert by taking his first victory of the season at yesterday’s Druivenkoers Overijse (1.1). A crash caused a shake-up at the start of the race.
Wanty-Groupe Gobert helped control the peloton in the chase of a breakaway group of seven riders. In the local laps around Overijse, Mark McNally, Wesley Kreder and Kévin Van Melsen brought the peloton closer each lap. At three laps from the finish Pieter Vanspeybrouck reduced the peloton on the Schavei climb.
Together with three-time winner Jérôme Baugnies, Van Melsen, Guillaume Van Keirsbulck and Meurisse remained at the front of the race. From that big group, Xandro Meurisse tried his chances with two laps to go.
In a heavy downpour on the final lap, Oscar Riesebeek (Roompot – Nederlandse Loterij) and Meurisse accelerated and in the sprint Meurisse was faster than the Dutch rider. Meurisse thus took his first victory of the season, the 11th victory for Wanty-Groupe Gobert in 2018. After the three victories of Jérôme Baugnies, it is the fourth consecutive Wanty-Groupe Gobert win in Overijse.
Xandro Meurisse: “In the past year and a half I have been close to the victory a few times. Last year I won the Geraardsbergen kermesse in the same period, and today I finally get that UCI victory! This is great. I think it’s a shame for my teammate Jérôme Baugnies that he did not win his fourth consecutive Druivenkoers. But the win stays in the team, so I think he will be happy with that.”
“I checked Buienradar before the race and expected rain in the final. But I did not expect it to be such a downpour. I ride better in the rain since this year, which was rewarding at the European Championships in Glasgow (where Meurisse finished 6th) as well as today. In the last kilometer I felt myself sliding in the descent. Riesebeek put me under pressure, but I did not crash and could close the gap with him again. I can count on a strong sprint and could take the win in a sprint. ”
“The whole team did a terrific job. After a crash at the beginning of the race we did not have a rider in the break. But we stayed calm and kept the gap all day long under two minutes. Wesley, Mark and Kévin controlled the pace in a perfect manner. Then Pieter took care of the selection and Guillaume also did his work. In the final it was up to Jérôme and me to finish it. This is more than a victory from me alone. Without my teammates, I could never live up to this. ”
“I am looking forward to the Tour of Britain, my next race. It is a much tougher race than last year. We are starting with a strong team, including Dion Smith and Andrea Pasqualon. To achieve a good final GC won’t be easy, but we have to aim for a stage victory! We are in the good flow. “
