Iljo Keisse may be one of the most successful six-day riders but on the road he is usually the loyal domestique. Yesterday he got a rare chance to mix it up in a bunch sprint and he took a surprise victory in the Chateauroux Classi de l'Indre.

Iljo Keisse became the 16th OPQS rider to win a 2014 race in the road discipline on Sunday. The Belgian rider won the bunch sprint in the Châteauroux - Classic de l'Indre, a 203.9km French one-day race.

Keisse outsprinted Romain Feillu and Roy Jans. It was Keisse's first win on the road in 2014, but his second win of this year. Together with OPQS teammate Niki Terpstra he won the Six Days of Rotterdam.

It was the 57th overall win - 55th on the road - for OPQS in 2014.

“Of course I’m happy," Keisse said. "Today we planned to organize the sprint for Andrew Fenn, but he crashed at 6 kilometers to go. So we adjusted in a critical moment to set me up for the sprint instead.

"In the final kilometers Michal Golas put me in good position. He brought me from 25th position to the top five of a hectic, technical final. I launched my sprint at 230 meters to go. A guy was in front, Kevin Ista. I launched my sprint and caught him. I kept sprinting and waited for people to pass me, but they never did.

"I’m thrilled with my first victory on the road this year, and it’s nice to do it in a sprint. To me it’s something a bit new on the road to win in this way. I always work for the team with pleasure, and today, due to circumstances, I had the possibility to go for my own result. It's good for the team and a great way to celebrate my contract extension with the team.

"I want to dedicate this win to Golas, who did a great job in the final, and Tom Steels, who worked a lot with me in the week leading up to this race. We did a lot of motor pacing. He sped up my legs and the work we did paid off.

"I'm very happy, this is my first win of the year. I was targeting the Grand Prix Marcel Kint in early September. When I came here, I knew that it was only one week away.

"The course was not that easy ... Also, I did not have a good feeling in the first hundred kilometers. I was to far back under the red kite, around 25th place. Michal Golas brought me back to the front. I did not raise my arms because I did not know if there was someone who had passed. I did not want to risk getting passed on the line. It was only after the race that I realized that I had won with a bike length. 

"This is even more satisfying as I usually have a role as a teammate. There are so many big guys on the team that my status will not change either."