Jannik Steimle (Q36.5 Professional Biking Workforce) claimed a shock victory on the Grand Prix de Denain, the place the early breakaway held on after the group of favourites was stalled by a crash on the ultimate sector of cobbles.
Steimle outsprinted breakaway companion Cerial Desal (Bingoal WB), whereas Dries Van Gestel (TotalEnergies) pipped Arnaud De Lie (Lotto-Dstny) to 3rd place, 11 seconds down on the escapees.
That pair had been in a gaggle of 9 strongmen that was closing in on the escapees within the finale, however their pursuit was hampered when Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ) crashed on the final part of cobbles, bringing De Lie and others down with him.
Solely Van Gestel and De Lie’s teammate Brent Van Moer got here by means of with out falling, however they couldn’t strike a working settlement to chase down the remaining escapees.
By that time, Steimle, Desal and Maxime Jarnet (Van Rysel-Roubaix) nonetheless had nearly a minute or so in hand on their chasers, and it was quickly clear that they might combat out the victory.
Jarnet was distanced within the closing kilometres, and Steimle’s expertise and energy made the distinction within the two-up dash for the win.
“I’m actually glad that we made it to the end,” Steimle mentioned. “We had a very nice group from the beginning and I feel we actually raced properly collectively. Then in the long run, I feel it was essential to remain on the bike within the moist cobbled sections.”
Steimle joined Q36.5 within the winter after spending his first seasons as an expert with QuickStep.
“I used to be at QuickStep for the final 4 years,” the German mentioned. “I used to be extra a helper there, so I modified groups to get my very own probabilities. I’m actually proud of this, and now I’ll go together with loads of motivation to the massive Classics.”
Steimle, Desal and Jarnet have been joined by James Fouché (Euskaltel-Euskadi) and Paul Hennequin (Good Métropole Côte d’Azur) in an early break of 5 riders, they usually gained a most benefit of seven minutes over the peloton.
They nonetheless had 5 minutes in hand on the bunch by the point they hit the primary sector of cobbles with 80km remaining. That was sufficient to steer Küng to spring into motion. The Swiss rider attacked alone from the peloton with a shade over 60km to go, and he checked out ease on the cobbles as he closed the hole to 3 minutes.
By then, solely Steimel, Desal and Jarnet remained in entrance, whereas Lotto-Dstny have been driving to convey the pre-race favorite De Lie again into rivalry, with UAE Workforce Emirates additionally outstanding.
With 40km to, Küng was joined by a gaggle that included De Lie, Van Moer, Lewis Askey (Groupmama-FDJ), Van Gestel, Piet Allegaert, Aimé De Gendt (Cofidis), Hugo Web page (Intermarché-Wanty), Juan Molano and Filippo Baroncini (UAE Workforce Emirates).
After a solo effort from Baroncini had didn’t make a lot of an affect on the break’s lead, the hole ultimately started to come back down due to forcing from Küng, De Lie and Van Moer. With 12km remaining, the hole was right down to a minute, and it seemed as if the favourites would possibly combat out the win in any case.
The dynamic of the race modified, nevertheless, on the ultimate sector of cobbles. Küng was driving the tempo with intent on the entrance, however his wheels slipped from beneath him. Van Gestel, De Lie and Molano additionally got here down with him, and all momentum ebbed away from the chasing group.
Outcomes
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