Luis León Sánchez won the final stage of the Baloise Belgium Tour with a forty km solo ride yesterday.

The Spaniard joined a breakaway and took off on his own not long after. After a stage which was described as a mini version of Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Sánchez arrived in Banneux 27 seconds ahead of a first group.

"I'm very happy", Sánchez said afterwards. "It was a tough stage, and not only because of the parcours. The wet and cold weather didn’t help either. I knew I had to attack to win. In a sprint, I wouldn’t be able to defeat men like Francesco Gavazzi and Philippe Gilbert. I trained hard for this race, because it’s my first of the year. I’m very motivated to do well throughout the rest of the season.”

Thanks to his victory Sánchez rose to second place in the general classification. "But I wasn’t looking to the rankings. I just wanted to win the stage. I knew that Tony Martin’s lead was too big."

Sports Director Erik Dekker was full of praise for Sánchez afterwards. "I think it was a very clever victory. It was a hard race and yet he managed to break away all by himself. At first I did not think it was a smart move that he made his attack so early, but when he told me he felt strong, I knew it was alright. At that point, there was no turning back. It was all or nothing. I feel it’s a very strong showing how he kept the world champion and the world time trial champion behind him."

During last climb of La Redoute, Dekker pulled a trick out of his hat. "Luis was then only thirty seconds ahead, and so I said that Gilbert was chasing. That was, of course, not entirely true, but through that, he could again find the strength to ramp it up once again and he did manage to re-extend his lead.” Looking back at the entire Baloise Belgium Tour, Dekker is satisfied. "If you look at all the bunch sprints that we have had this week, today’s stage was actually the only real chance for a victory. And we have seized it with both hands. We came here with a lot of guys who are building up and I think they have managed to further that process.”