Hermans Best Rider for The Shack in Wallonie
Grand Prix de Wallonie, 200km/124mi
By Cathy Mehl
A late attack on the way to the Citadel of Namur gave German Paul Martens (Rabobank) the victory in the Grand Prix de Wallonie on Wednesday as he just held off Riccardo Ricco (Vacansoleil) at the line. Third place went to world champion Cadel Evans of BMC.
A break of four riders gained a maximum advantage of more than five minutes and stayed away for most of the race. Reeled back with 22km to go, the final run to the Citadel was full of attacks by riders hoping to earn a victory.
The final 3k put the riders on a twisting, narrow road with switchbacks that climbed to the summit. Initially a large group was still present but as the pitch steepened, plenty of legs popped and the field was soon diminished. Still in the group was Team RadioShack’s Ben Hermans. When Martens attacked just before the red kite, Ricco was hard on his wheel, along with Evans and two other riders. In a final left hander just before the finish line, Evans found himself blocked in his efforts to pass, and lost ground was never regained by the Aussie rider.
Team RadioShack races again on Friday in Belgium at the Championship Flanders Koolskamp.
Top Ten Results
1 Paul Martens (Ger) Rabobank 4:56:12
2 Riccardo Ricco (Ita) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team
3 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team
4 Julien Simon (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 0:00:05
5 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) ISD - Neri
6 Björn Leukemans (Bel) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team 0:00:08
7 Kevin Ista (Bel) Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne 0:00:10
8 Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator 0:00:15
9 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto 0:00:16
10 Luca Paolini (Ita) Acqua & Sapone
Team RadioShack Results
30 Ben Hermans (Bel) 0:00:25
46 Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz) 0:00:33
55 Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) 0:00:48
77 Grégory Rast (Swi) 0:02:52
78 Ivan Rovny (Rus)
122 José Luis Rubiera Vigil (Spa)
123 Daryl Impey (RSA)
DNF Andreas Klöden (Ger)
DNF Geoffroy Lequatre (Fra)
Photo courtesy of Graham Watson
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