Tom Boonen of Omega Pharma Quick Step, nicknamed the King of Belgium, delighted his subjects when he won the Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne Spring Classic race in Belgium for a third time.
Katusha's Vladimir Isaychev was one of the early escapers on the 67th running of this race, although two have been cancelled including last year's race.
A race, won by Mark Cavendish in 2012, which does not actually go to Brussels but to Galmaarden, some 25 kilometres away, had Isaychev in a group of four riders with Joeaar, Dillier and Vingerling after 51kms with a three minute lead over a peloton which included David Millar and ian Stannard fresh from his Omloop Het Nieuwsblad victory.
On a sunny day. this 1-1 race on the European Tour, Taylor Phinney crashed and was taken to hospital on a tight bend by a farm house.
The quartet were ahead by 2.12 with 89kms to go and that time dropped quickly as a group of fifteen riders led by Tom Boonen of the Omega Pharma Quick Step team and Andrei Greipel.
On the Achteraan cobbles, the back of the peloton game to a halt with 73.7kms remaining due to riders getting twigs etc in their wheels and having to be helped to free them by the spectators on eiher side of this country lane.
Michael Vingerling dropped off the pace being set by the escapers and the chasing Seb Van Marcke and the group which comprised of Tom Boonen, Stijn Vandenbergh, Matteo Trentin, Guillaume Van Keirsbulck, Nikolas Maes (Omega Pharma-QuickStep), Sep Vanmarcke, Moreno Hofland, Maarten Wynants (Belkin), Johan Vansummeren (Garmin-Sharp), Yves Lampaert (Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise)
On to the Tiegemberg which is 750m long and this group had caught the escapers and taken over, getting a 1.04 lead over a second chasing group and 2.10 over the peloton.
Into Waregem and with the roads now downhill, the gap dropped to less than a minute to a peloton now being led by Ian Stannard and his Team Sky team mates.
The stage finished with two sixteen kilometre circuits around Kuurne and Belkin had their riders on the front as the leaders started on these circuits after three hours and forty six minutes of racing.
The gap was still around a minute going into the final thirteen kilometres and seven kilometres later, had gone out to 1.12.
With 3.7kms to go, Wynants tried to attack but Trentin brought him back.before dropping off the back of this group.
This was anybody's race going under the Flam Rouge. Vansummeren went first but was shut down so Tom Boonen, a former World Champion went followed by Hoffman and just won in a time of 4.28.55.
Sep Vanmarcke was the last man on the podium, followed by Yves Lampaert, Stijn Vandenbergh, Maarten Wijnants, Guillaume Van Keirsbulck, Nikolas Maes, Matteo Trentin and Johan Van Summeren.
This was Boonen's third win this race and he said to the Omega Pharma Quick Step website: “I’m very happy about this victory especially if I think about yesterday’s race.
"Today I felt good the entire day, I was completely recovered and this was a good sign. We did our race, we controlled the other teams and then on the Oude Kwaremont we accelerated.
"To be honest it wasn’t something programmed. Stijn Vandenbergh did a good tempo and at the top, after the false flat, we realized that we were all in the front. So we upped the pace and we went. It was still far from the finish and maybe a bit risky, but also the other teams who had to chase were tired. Fortunately we had three Belkin riders in the group and they really work hard with us.
"Everybody in the group worked hard to go to the finish. We all believed in this action. To me it was better to arrive in a small group instead of facing a bunch sprint, so we made the race hard. In the final I was a bit nervous because we could only lose this race with five of us in the front.
"In the last 20 kilometers we started to think about the sprint. I was expecting more attacks but there was a lot of wind and it wasn’t easy to attack.
"I have to thank the whole team. We showed once again that we are a good group. After the winter I understood that I was ok, that I was ready for a good season. I won at Tour of Qatar but of course this race in my home country has a special taste, even if it doesn't change a lot.
"As usual we will check the ’the balance' of my first part of the season after Roubaix, but of course this weekend makes me confident for the upcoming weeks.”