Kenny Dehaes (Wanty-Groupe Gobert) again proved that he is the in-form sprinter at the moment by taking his third victory in a little more than a month at the Belgian one-day race Ronde van Limburg. In the uphill sprint in Tongeren, he held off Tom Boonen (Etixx-QuickStep) while Timothy Dupont (Veranda’s Willems) made it an all-Belgian podium.

In-form Kenny Dehaes: The whole team has confidence in me

Next to the team riding in the World Tour race the Critérium du Dauphiné, another part of Wanty-Groupe Gobert travelled to Tongeren fort he Ronde van Limburg with one favourite: Kenny Dehaes. He was supported by Boris Dron, Jérôme Baugnies, Lander Seynaeve, Mark McNally, Robin Stenuit, Gaëtan Bille and Tom Devriendt. The sprinter of Wanty-Groupe Gobert won the race. It is the fifth victory of the season for Wanty-Groupe Gobert, the third for the Belgian sprinter.

"I’m really happy with this victory. My teammates worked hard the whole day. So I could sprint for the win", Kenny Dehaes said.

After 44 kilometres three riders attacked from the main pack. The peloton slowed down. At kilometre 91, Wietse Bosmans was dropped from the leading group. Rob Ruijgh and Pieter Serry spent the rest of the day together. After a long chase, the peloton caught the two riders with seven kilometres to go.

"My teammates gave everything to come back on the chasers. Several teams helped us. The gap decreased very quickly at the end", Kenny Dehaes explained.

Rain started to fall but that didn’t prevent the teams to prepare the sprint. Kenny Dehaes got a gap immediately and beat Tom Boonen and Timothy Dupont in the uphill battle to the line.

"I came from behind. In the last corner I already had a big gap. I like this kind of finish", Kenny Dehaes concluded.

This victory will give Dehaes confidence for the coming weeks. 

"After a difficult start of the season I'm back in form. I can still win races.The team believes in me. I'm definitely looking forward to the ZLM Toer and Halle-Ingooigem," he concluded.

"The team worked throughout the day to catch Ruijgh and Serry,” he told Directvelo. “I found it a rather exhausting day, with regular rain. In the sprint, I came from behind and in the last corner, I was two bike lengths ahead. I like the arrival of this type. With my victories in 4 Days of Dunkirk and the Tour of Picardie, I have shown that I am still there. The whole team believes in me. I'm going to ZLM Tour and Halle-Ingooigem with confidence

Runner-up Tom Boonen: I have lost more than I have won

Coming off from a tough Giro d'Italia, a race in which he supported Gianluca Brambilla and Bob Jungels as well as going in the escape, Pieter Serry showed his condition is still there and made it into the day's break at Ronde van Limburg, together with Rob Ruijgh (Crelan-Vastgoedservice). In his fourth season with Etixx – Quick-Step, Serry impressed with the strong pulls he did at the front and helped the break open a big gap over the peloton, which at one point made him and Ruijgh believe they can make it until the finish line.

With 40 kilometers remaining, the front duo hada four-minute advantage, but the effort they put in up until that point on the steep hills and tricky cobbled sectors took its toll in the end, as the sprinters' teams were closing in. Inside the final 10 of the 200 kilometers, 27-year-old Serry accelerated and went solo, but the 15 seconds he held weren't enough to prevent the fast charging pack from reeling him in.

As expected, it came down to a massive sprint, and Tom Boonen was up there for Etixx – Quick-Step, finishing second, just behind countryman Kenny Dehaes, but ahead of another Belgian, Timothy Dupont. For Boonen, this was his second podium of the season, following the one in Paris-Roubaix, a results which bodes well ahead of the National Championships, scheduled on June 26, on a 231-km long course in Les Lacs de l'Eau d'Heure.

"Despite the weather, I really enjoyed this race: beautiful roads, with a good profile,” Boonen told Directvelo. “Until the start of the circuits, I really thought the breakaway with Ruijgh and Serry would stay away. But the wide roads in the finale wer a disadvantage against a full peloton. I chose to launch the sprint, because I saw that my competitors waited a little. Kenny Dehaes came from further back with a lot of speed and I could not go on. In the last curve, I didn’t have the best curve. Naturally, I would have preferred to win. Anyway, in my career, I have lost more often than I have won!”

Pieter Serry surprises himself with great ride in Limburg

"I had a few weeks of rest after the Giro,” Serry told Directvelo. “Therefore I had not intended to find myself in a breakaway with two or three riders. But the situation presented itself to me. We still had an advantage of five minutes thirty to fifty kilometers from the finish. But given the difficulty of the course, with big roads and very long straights, it was impossible to resist alone against a big peloton. Anyway, I did not think that I would do this. This breakaway shows that I'm still in good shape now. It was a good training for the Belgian Championships."
 

In-form Timothy Dupont on the podium in Limburg

Timothy Dupont (Verandas Willems) was third.

"I was hoping to finish in the top three,” he told Directvelo. “I would have liked the podium in a different order, but this is not a bad result after a hard race. The team was vigilant in front of the pack. I was on the wheel of Boonen, but he was caught out by Dehaes and directly there was a small gap. In the last corner, he almost crashed and I lost speed. Then I tried to pass Boonen but he was also faster than me.”

Strong ride by Rob Ruijgh in Ronde van Limburg

Rob Ruijgh (Crelan - Vastgoedservice) Member was in the breakaway.

"I was the one to take the initiative of our offensive,” he told Directvelo. “I isolated myself in front. Pieter Serry and Wietse Bosmans joined me. It is too bad that Bosmans was not able to follow. He punctured. He returned and then he had to let go. With two, we knew the mission was more difficult. We stayed away for a long time. But in the last kilometers, the gap melted. I was caught a little earlier than Serry. I saw the peloton following us closely. So I stopped my effort."

Andre Looij gets top 10 result for Roompot in Limburg

In 7th, André Looij was the first rider of Roompot - Orange Peloton.

After attack attempts from Tim Kerkhof and Etienne van Empel early in the race, the break got clear. 

"There was a miscommunication,” said sports director Michel Cornelisse said about this important moment. "We got the wrong names. If you know that someone from the strongest team (Etixx-Quick Step) is there, you cannot let them go. After that, it took too long for us to find out what was happening.”

André Looij finished seventh. 

"Actually I am frustrated because after the last corner I was still in fourth position," the young sprinter said. "Wesley Kreder positioned me well, but because it was a steep uphill finish, I fell back in the last 100 meters.”

Barry Markus finished 17th.