Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) won the opening stage of the Three Days of De Panne in Belgium on Tuesday on his return to racing after missing Sunday's Ghent-Wevelgem with illness.
Kristoff, Alexey Lutsenko (Astana), Lieuwe Westra (Astana) and Luke Rowe (Sky) formed the winning move into the final 30km of the hilly stage from De Panne to Zottegem.
Disaster struck for Rowe before the final ascent of the Muur van Geraardsbergen as he punctured and had to accept a rear wheel from neutral service. After a slow wheel change, Rowe was left trying to catch up.
Luke Rowe dropped out of the lead group after suffering from a puncture
(Image credit: Watson)
Rowe eased off to let lone chaser Mads Pedersen (Stölting Service Group) join him in the pursuit, but the two could not make the junction to the trio up front.
At times, the lead group were disorganised with Kristoff leaving the two Astana riders to do the work but there appeared to be some disagreement between Lutsenko and Westra, neither of whom used their numerical advantage to attack Kristoff.
The three were still together and with a minute in hand over the chase group as they passed under the 1km-to-go marker.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Kristoff then led the Astana duo into the finish straight, opening up a sprint that went unchallenged to take the stage and race lead. Lutsenko placed second, with Westra in third. Rowe hung on for fifth place.
Alexander Kristoff leads the two Astana riders
(Image credit: Watson)
The Three Days of De Panne continues on Wednesday with stage two, a 211km route from Zottegem to Koksijde featuring five climbs in the central section before flattening out towards the finish circuit. The race concludes on Thursday with two stages, a 112km road stage and a 14.2km individual time trial.
Nigel Wynn worked as associate editor on CyclingWeekly.com, he worked almost single-handedly on the Cycling Weekly website in its early days. His passion for cycling, his writing and his creativity, as well as his hard work and dedication, were the original driving force behind the website’s success. Without him, CyclingWeekly.com would certainly not exist on the size and scale that it enjoys today. Nigel sadly passed away, following a brave battle with a cancer-related illness, in 2018. He was a highly valued colleague, and more importantly, an exceptional person to work with - his presence is sorely missed.
