Place Name: Place Verte
Address: Place Verte 40, 7370 Dour, Hainaut, Belgium
Details: February 27, 2024
A much more traditional race pattern emerged under sunny Belgian skies. A group of five rolled off the front right away to establish the break. Uno-X Mobility led the chase and started to make the race tough with 65KM remaining. Groups split off the back and the peloton were within twenty seconds just 5KM later. The proximity of the break enticed some riders to spring across but they were all back together at 50KM to go. In a moment of calm, Jonas Rickaert of Alpecin-Deceuninck got away solo. A few KM later, more riders tried to get out of the peloton and eventually two more made it to Rickaert, Pavel Bittner of DSM-Firmenich and Thomas Gachignard of Total-Energies. Coming into the final local lap, Rickaert ran out of legs and drifted back to the peloton. A crash at 15KM remaining split the group, leaving just forty riders at the front. Bittner flatted out of the break and Gachignard was caught shortly after. The final KM was long, uphill and it was all coming to a bunch sprint. Uno-X Mobility and Team Arkea-B&B Hotels had their leadouts but Laurenz Rex of Intermarché–Want was sprinting up the middle and António Morgado of UAE coming fast on the outside. Rex put his arms up but the bike throw from Morgado made it much closer with the result coming to a photo. Fortunately for Rex, the photo showed him crossing the line first for his first professional victory.
Tags: Le Samyn, 2024, February, Quaregnon, Dour, Jonas Rickaert, Pavel Bittner, Thomas Gachignard, Laurenz Rex, António Morgado