Sylvain Chavanel (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) won the final stage time trial to take the overall win in the Three Days of De Panne on Thursday.
Chavanel started the day in fourth overall, 10 seconds adrift of race leader Alexander Kristoff (Katusha). The Frenchman blitzed the twisting 14.75km route around De Panne to take the stage win over second-placed Anton Vorobyev (Katusha) by 19 seconds. Lieuwe Westra (Vacansoleil-DCM) was third at 21 seconds.
Under-23 world time trial champion Vorobyev put down an early fast marker and stayed in the hot seat until Chavanel came through.
Chavanel finished 22 seconds ahead of morning stage 3a winner Kristoff overall, with Omega Pharma team-mate Terpstra in third at 31 seconds.
Stage two winner, Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) put in a strong time trial ride to place tenth overall, one minute and six seconds behind Chavanel.
Chavanel goes into the Tour of Flanders as one of the strong favourites alongside team-mate Tom Boonen, Fabian Cancellara (RadioShack-Leopard) and Slovak rival Peter Sagan (Cannondale). Boonen and Sagan withdrew from the Three Days of De Panne this morning in order to prepare for Sunday's race.
Results
Three Days of De Panne 2013, stage 3b: De Panne to De Panne, 14.75km ITT
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1. Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Omega Pharma-QuickStep in 18-02
2. Anton Vorobyev (Rus) Katusha at 19 secs
3. Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM at 21 secs
4. Johan Le Bon (Fra) FDJ at 24 secs
5. Niki Terpstra (Ned) Omega Pharma-QuickStep at 31 secs
6. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha at 32 secs
7. Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Argos-Shimano at 34 secs
8. Jens Mouris (Ned) Orica-GreenEdge at 35 secs
9. Luke Durbridge (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge at 35 secs
10. Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) Omega Pharma-QuickStep at 41 secs
Other
18. Mark Cavendish (GBr) Omega Pharma-QuickStep at 1-07
69. Russell Downing (GBr) NetApp-Endura at 2-08
Final overall classification
1. Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Omega Pharma-QuickStep in 12-34-28
2. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha at 22 secs
3. Niki Terpstra (Ned) Omega Pharma-QuickStep at 31 secs
4. Johan Le Bon (Fra) FDJ at 32 secs
5. Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM at 38 secs
6. Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Argos-Shimano at 51 secs
7. Luke Durbridge (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge at 52 secs
8. David Boucher (Fra) FDJ at 57 secs
9. Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) Omega Pharma-QuickStep at 58 secs
10. Mark Cavendish (GBr) Omega Pharma-QuickStep at 1-06
Other
105. Russell Downing (GBr) NetApp-Endura at 20-55
Russell Downing
Mark Cavendish
Lieuwe Westra
Sylvain Chavanel on his way to winning the time trial and overall in Three Days of De Panne
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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.
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