The Baloise Belgium Tour started off with a day that was expected to see a bunch sprint, however the race was much tougher than originally expected. The classics riders had a day out, but ultimately it came down to a sprint and Fabio Jakobsen showed good legs on the day.
“It was a very fast stage. Once the attacks started early, things never stopped. Fortunately we were able to close the gap and luckily Casper Pedersen had a great day. He jumped to the next group, so we could stay calm in the peloton," team DS Tom Steels said following the stage. As the likes of Mathieu van der Poel and Rasmus Tiller rode on the offensive yesterday, it caused a great deal of concern in the peloton, which moved extremely fast through the opening day so as to keep the GC open for days to come.
Quick-Step had Casper Pedersen in the move which allowed the team to save some resources to the finale, but nevertheless the team did not have a leadout for the European champion - unlike several others, including Alpecin-Deceuninck. However Jakobsen latched onto Jasper Philipsen's wheel, and in a short sprint he almost jumped into victory.
“Casper would have had a good chance if they had made it, but everything came together and we got a bunch sprint. Fabio made a good effort in this. He has shown that he is on the right track and he will have more opportunities to show what he is capable of”, Steels assures, after the sprint block returned from an altitude camp. Jakobsen should have two more opportunities to succeed in the Belgian race, where he hopes to net a win before the Tour de France.
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It’s second for @FabioJakobsen on the opening day of the #BaloiseBelgiumTour, won by Jasper Philipsen.
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