"I saw three crashes, one touched me in the leg" - Juan Sebastián Molano on avoiding crash-fest to win De Panne

UAE Team Emirates - XRG are very much used to winning but this year, the sprints have in no way been their field. However their sole sprinter, Juan Sebastián Molano, has opened up his tally for the year and directly with a World Tour triumph at the Classic Brugge-De Panne where he had to avoid a flurry of crashes around him to then surge to victory.

In the final 5 kilometers there were four falls, three of them including many riders. Tim Merlier, Olav Kooij, Milan Fretin, Arnaud De Lie, Alexander Kristoff, Alberto Dainese and Arnaud Démare were just some of the few who went down - whilst Jasper Philipsen, another big favourite, was likely caught out because of it.

In the final 500 meters there were about two dozen riders left in the peloton and no leadout left. With this, Molano took the opportunity to come from behind and try to surprise with an early sprint... It worked to perfection, a victory of strength but also smarts.

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"I'm very happy. This final is really really dangerous, really fast. After the last corner I put myself in good position, after there is more road... I try, no?" the Colombian said in a post-race interview. "I tried with 500 meters, I was really really fast at the start of the sprint but it was long. I look behind, no-one followed me, and full gas to the final!"

It was a brilliant victory, and also one that was extremely close as Jonathan Milan came very close to closing the gap in the very final meters. "Milan is really fast. I tried a long sprint and finally, it's my first win this year, I'm really happy for me, my family and my team".

However, this was a victory that needed a lot of luck and expertise on the bike, as he could feel the crashes happening around him in the final meters of the stage. "I saw three crashes, one touched me in the leg. Also a rider on the left, really fast really dangerous but I'm very happy, this is more important for me," he concluded.

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