Danish Mads Pedersen (Trek Segafredo), world champion in 2019, wore the jersey of the first leader of the Tour of Belgium after winning the 165 km opening stage between Merelbeke and Maarkedal in a sprint.
The stage, a kind of classic very typical of the Flemish lands, is characterized by continuous attacks from the beginning of the Berg ten Houte, located before the finish line, where the main movement of the sun took place.
Climbing the elevation, a group of 14 runners was formed, with Mads Pedersen outstanding when it came to solving, the man who replaced Alejandro Valverde in 2019 as world champion on the road. Nordic had to push himself hard to beat two Belgian rivals, and very fast, like Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal) and Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Fenix).
The break was formed late, at 55 km, when 5 riders left the group: Mudgway, Debaele, Nick van der Meer, Marchand and Vanoverschelde (Tarteletto-Isorex). They never had much of an advantage, but they entered the final circuit that had to be done 4 laps with a 2 minute run.
The stiffness of the route with climbs to Fortstraat, Ellestraat and Berg ten Houte caused damage in conjunction with the start of the battle in the peloton, where important runners, such as Mauro Schmid (Quick-Step), Hermans (Intermarché) ) and Mads Pedersen.
Three men were enough to overthrow the escape, although they eventually also melted into the great group at Berg ten Houte, where the race began to go crazy. A Briton breakaway Mark Donovan punished sprinters like Fabio Jakobsen, Sam Bennett or Arnaud De Lie, who sifted through the list of candidates.
The race went through the “Golden Kilometer”, a new thing that gives a 6 second bonus at first, a reward that Pedersen took. Only the last climb to Berg ten Houte was left, leaving 15 selected for the sprint. Among all the strongest is Mads Pederse (Tollose, 26 years old), a rider with 23 victories to her name, including the World Cup, the Ghent Wevelgem and the Kuurne.
This Thursday, the second stage will be held between the towns of Beveren and Knokke-Heist, with a flat route of 175.6 km and a slight climb to the finish line.
Source: La Verdad
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