Former U23 time trial world champion Anton Vorobyev (Katusha) underlined his excellent condition when he took his first pro win at the Drieddagse van West-Vlaanderen prologue. With a time of 7.57 on the 7km out-and-back course in Middelkerke, he beat Jesse Sergent (Trek) and Alexis Gougeard (Ag2r) by 4 seconds to take the first leader’s jersey in the race.

Since he turned professional in 2013, Anton Vorobyev has often proved that he has the potential to become one of the best time triallists but apart from a win at his national championships, he has always come up slightly short in the UCI races. After a solid fifth place in the Volta ao Algarve TT a few weeks ago, however, he was keen on finally opening his account in the Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen prologue which has usually been a testing ground for young talents.

Despite being an early starter, the Russian didn’t disappoint. Clad in his Russian champion’s jersey, he became the third rider in the five-year history of the prologue to cover the course in less than 8 minutes when he stopped the clock in a time of 7.57 and this turned out to be enough to win the stage.

However, Vorobyev faced a long, nervous wait in the hot set while specialists like Jan Barta (Bora-Argon 18) and Jesse Sergent (Trek) both tried to beat his time. The latter got closest with a time of 8.01 but it was only good enough for second. Barta was one second slower in fourth.

Alexis Gougeard (Ag2r), another young, talented time triallist, gave him a scare but his time of 8.01 was only good enough for third. The final wave of riders was stacked with good time triallists but surprisingly none of them managed to crack the top. Defending champion Gert Joeaar (Cofidis) got closest but his time of 8.11 was only good enough for 12th.

With the win, Vorboyev takes the first leader’s jersey in the three-day race and as the final two road stages both suit the sprinters, he finds himself in a very good position. Most of the sprinters lost more than 20 seconds and so will have a hard time getting back in contention by picking up bonus seconds. However, Jean-Pierre Drucker (BMC) had a good ride to finish 7th, just 11 seconds off the mark, and with his good sprinting skills he could pose a threat.

Vorobyev faces his first big test tomorrow when he tackles the first road stage. It is virtually completely flat and ends with four laps of a flat circuit in Harelbeke. At the midpoint, the riders will go up the Oude Kwaremont but with good weather forecasted, the stage is likely to be decided in a bunch sprint.

An out-and-back course

For the fifth year in a row, the Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen kicked off with the same 7km prologue in Middelkerke. Being completely flat, it was a straightforward affair as the riders just went out and back along the coastal road before they finished in front of the casino in the seaside town.

The stage was held in pleasant, dry weather conditions without too much wind and the riders faced a headwind in the first part of the course before they turned around and headed back in tailwind. The first rider down the ramp was Olivier Pardini (Verandas Willems) and he set an early mark of 8.46 to moe into the hot seat.

Best time for Campenaerts

Rudy Barbier (Roubaix) got close but he was fractions of a second slower than the Belgian. Instead, it was Victor Campenaerts (Topsport Vlaanderen) who knocked him out of the hot seat when he stopped the clock in 8.17.

Alex Kirsch (Cult) posted a time of 8.32 to move into second before Sander Armee (Lotto Soudal) moved into third with 8.38. Moments later Rick Zabel (BMC) became the first rider to finish within 10 seconds of Campenaerts when he stopped the clock in 8.24.

Van Keirsbulck takes the lead

Stef Van Zummeren (Verandas Willems) moved into fourth with 8.33 before Gijs van Hoecke (Topsport Vlaanderen) became the third rider to go beyond the 8.30 mark by posting a time of 8.28. Jaco Venter (MTN-Qhubeka) was the closest yet when he set a time of 8.22 but he was quickly knocked one spot down by Andreas Schillinger (Bora-Argon 18) who was just 1 second slower than Campenaerts.

Marco Haller (Katusha) moved into the top 5 with 8.26 before Tiesj Benoot (Lotto Soudal) continued his impressive debut season by stopping the clock in 8.21. Less than two minutes later, however, Guillaume van Keirsbulck (Etixx-QuickStep) crushed Campenaert’s time by posting a time of 8.13.

Vorobyev crushes the opposition

The Belgian didn’t even have time to sit in the hot seat as he was beaten by Jempy Drucker (BMC) less than one minute later, with the Luxembourger posting a time of 8.08. Sander Helven (Topsport Vlaanderen) was the first to get close to him with a time of 8.13 before Fabio Silvestre (Trek) stopped the clock in 8.16 to move into fourth.

Martijn Keizer (LottoNL-Jumbo) was the first to beat Drucker when he posted a time of 8.06 but less than one minute later Vorobyev did even better with his 7.57. Joey Rosskopf (BMC) and Johann van Zyl (MTN-Qhubeka) both had good rides to make it into the top 10 while Vorobyev took his place in the hot seat.

Barta gets close

His time faced the first big test when Jan Barta (Bora-Argon 18) started his ride but the strong Czech had to settle for second with 8.02. Moments later Hugo Houle (Ag2r) again underlined his improved level when he stopped the clock in 8.10.

For a long time, no one was able to challenge the best times until Danilo Wyss (BMC) made it into the top 10 with 8.09. However, all eyes now were on Jesse Sergent (Trek) who won this stage a few years ago, but this time he could only manage 8.01 which was good enough for second.

Great ride by Gougeard

Lukasz Wisniowski (Etixx-QuickStep) moved into the top 10 with a time of 8.10 but he was quickly relegated by Christophe Laporte (Cofidis) who stopped the clock in 8.09. However, it was Alexis Gougeard (Ag2r) who took the attention when he moved into third with 8.01.

Yves Lampaert (Etixx-QuickStep) was expected to do well and his 8.05 was good enough for fifth while Jimmy Engoulvent (Europcar), Rasmus Quaade (Cult), Patrick Gretsch (Ag2r), Stijn Devolder (Trek) and Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha) all had disappointing rides. Kris Boeckmans (Lotto Belisol) stayed in contention for the overall win when he stopped the clock in 8.17 and so beat fellow sprinter Gianni Meersman (Etixx-QuickStep) who could only manage 8.22.

As Campbell Flakemore (BMC) was far off the pace, only defending champion Gert Joeaar (Cofidis) could threaten Vorobyev. His time of 8.11 was only good enough for 12th and so the Russian could step onto the podium as the first leader of the race.