Jasper Philipsen wins the Eleven Cities Round with force majeure

Three early escapees, Louis Blouwe, Olivier Godfroid and the Dutchman Frank van den Broek, started the five local rounds of 15.7 kilometers each with a lead of 2:35. On the cobblestones of the Brieversweg, with 53 kilometers to go, the lights went out at Louis Bluwe. The two remaining escapees drove 1:40 ahead of the large group.

Mass fall

With two laps to go the lead had dropped to one minute and Olivier Godfroid also got right. Frank van den Broek held on until six kilometers from the finish. Partly because the pursuit was disrupted by a massive crash with Jonas Rickaert, Jenthe Biermans, Yves Lampaert, Andrea Perron and David Dekker as the main victims.

Easy profit for Philipsen

In the sprint, Jasper De Buyst went full for Caleb Ewan, but the Australian was not in his wheel. Jasper Philipsen came on the left, Fabio Jakobsen tried to keep his wheel but Philipsen was too strong.