After a solid top 10 in the prologue, Alexis Gougeard was again in the mix when he made it into the right break and finished fourth in stage 1 of the Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen.

"I must admit that it was against the odds," he told Directvelo. "I was not well positioned at the Oude Kwuaremont. I was in a second group. I started to panic but my teammates reassured me. 

"When we returned, we had to stay alert to the bonus seconds. When Lampaert attacked, I decided to follow him and this proved the right choice. On the last lap, I missed some experience because many riders know every corner of this region. In the last kilometer, a rider attacked, I got onto his wheel to not let him go. 

"I'm happy to ride the Flemish races. I get experience. Finally, I finished fourth which is a good result. The legs were finally opened today, it bodes well for the future. We will not leave the final victory to Lampaert easily. "