The 68th edition of Halle-Ingooigem on Wednesday began under pleasant weather conditions, and with sunny skies greeting the peloton everything pointed to a race with a straightforward script, which - as every year - would come down to a bunch sprint for the 198.8-kilometer race in Belgium.

In the end, the bunch kick did play out but not before a dramatic finale that saw a decimated group arrive to the final 25 kilometers after a series of attacks into the brisk winds whittled the peloton to around 40 riders.

Trek Factory Racing banked all its efforts in the final local laps, and when the echelons formed five pinstripes were in the front.  Danny van Poppel has not recovered his normal form and during the race it was decided that Boy van Poppel would be the designated sprinter if it all came down to a mass finish. 

However lady luck was not on their side, and an untimely puncture eliminated the van Poppel brothers.

“We had decided to wait to do something in the circuits where it was always up and down, but no real climb, director Dirk Demol explained. “With 40kms to go the echelons formed and we had five on the first echelon. Then Boy flatted and Danny waited, but the pace was 60km/h at that point and they could not come back.

“Danny has no power, since the third stage last week, and as a result his morale is very low. Already in the race they had decided that Boy would make the sprint and Boy has good form from the Giro, but then he punctured….”

The attacks were fierce from the front group now pared to around 30 riders, resulting in a dangerous five-man group slipping off the front the final time up the Tiegemberg, the sole significant climb on the circuit.

Trek Factory Racing had Stijn Devolder, Eugenio Alafaci, and Marco Coledan still in the select group, and the race was going up the road. Devolder put his head down and gave chase, throwing all his effort into pulling things back together.

Devolder had little help, it was one against five, and the leaders threatened to upset the normal state of affairs, holding a small 10-second gap for the final 12 kilometers. 

Not one to give in, Devolder mulishly continued the chase and with the scent of the finish line luring a few others, somehow everything came together under the red kite: the leaders were caught while behind the second peloton also latched itself back and 80 riders chaotically rushed toward the line.

Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis) sprinted to the victory over Kris Boeckmans (Lotto Soudal) and Edward Theuns (Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise) while a nasty crash in the final meters caused numerous riders to fall, including Eugenio Alafaci who hit the tarmac hard.

“Eugenio was well-placed at the end for the sprint, but on the wrong side of a wheel, and there was nothing he could do to escape the crash. It was a scary crash and the ambulance brought him to the bus, but there is nothing broken although he is really banged up. He has a month now with no racing to recover, so he will be okay," Demol said.

“Stijn was very good, very strong, and his motivation is high. Already he is recovered from the Tour de Suisse and he did a great job at the end to help bring it all back together.

“It’s frustrating – another puncture, crash…. I don’t know, our bad luck just seems to haunt us, I don’t know what we need to do?” half-joked Demol, then added, “The only thing we can do is go onward.”