With Druivenkoers-Overijse, a series of Belgian classics began today for BORA – ARGON 18.

The course of nearly 198 km was divided into two big circuits, a smaller circuit and eight final laps. The race had a profile that is typical for the region of Flanders and it included nine climbs that had to be tackled no less than 37 times.

The field neutralized all the breakaways in the first hour of the race and so it took almost 40 km before an attack of four riders was allowed. The peloton gave a lead of six minutes before they were caught 85 kilometers later already.

From this moment on, the race was dominated by many attacks on the final laps. With four laps to go, an elite group of 17 riders including Andreas Schillinger, Daniel Schorn and Scott Thwaites was able to create a gap to the remaining field. This group increased its lead and decided the day’s victory. Jérôme Baugnies (Wanty-Groupe Gobert) won ahead of his team mate Marco Marcato and Sean De Bie (Lotto-Soudal). Daniel Schorn, fifth in last year’s edition, sprinted to the 8th place.

Steffen Radochla, Sport Director of BORA – ARGON 18, comments the race:

“It was a fast, hectic and dangerous race. Firstly, Bartosz [Huzarski] and Zak [Dempster] were involved in a crash. We have to check whether they have been injured.

"During the race, the guys did a good job and always paid attention to their position. They were in the front of the field. That’s also why the finale looked quite promising. With Andreas, Daniel and Scott we placed three riders in the decisive group. But when the attacks started on the last lap, only Daniel was able to stay in the group. Although our goal was a podium result, his Top10 result is allright."