Max Van Heeswijk won the 59th edition of Nokere Koerse under a bright spring sun. The race started in Oudenaarde, near the Tour of Flanders Center. After a long warm-up lap through all of Oudenaarde’s boroughs, the race reached its climax in front of a huge crowd during 10 exciting local laps.
Johan Van Summeren (BEL/Bodysol – Brustor), vice world champion in the U23 category, and Stefan Kupfernagel (GER/Lamonta) were the first breakaway riders to hold their own for several laps. This earned Van Summeren the mountain prize of the municipality of Kruishoutem (350 euros).
Halfway through the race, the peloton regrouped. With four laps to go, a leading group of 19 riders formed, including Allan Johansen, Leon Van Bon, Gert Steegmans, Chris Peers, Gerben Löwik, Thorwald Veneberg, and others. Behind them was another group of about 25 riders, and a little later these two groups merged. Nico Mattan had to abandon the race due to mechanical problems.
Thorwald Veneberg, Geoffrey Demeyere, Roy Sentjens, and Michel Van Haecke were part of the leading group and tried to go it alone in the final. They gained a 30-second lead, but in the last few kilometers, everything came back together. This time, Max van Heeswijk didn’t need Lance Armstrong to lead the sprint. He was the fastest on Nokereberg. Rudi Kemna won the sprint for second place, ahead of Jo Planckaert and Gerben Löwik. “I’m strong in a sprint on a slight uphill and I was still in good shape. My teammates also did a great job,” Van Heeswijk said after the race. For Mad Max, this was already his fifth victory of the season.
Uitslag :
(193,2 km – tijd : 4 uur 25 minuten – snelheid : 43.85 km per uur).
001. Max van Heeswijk NED US Postal – Berry Floor
002. Rudi Kemna NED Bankgiroloterij
003. Jo Planckaert BEL Mrbookmaker-Palmans-Collstrop
004. Gerben Löwik NED Chocolade Jacques – Wincor Nixdorf
005. James Van Landschoot BEL Bodysol – Brustor
006. Jimmy Casper FRA Cofidis
007. Kurt Hovelijnck BEL Cyclingteam Jong Vlaanderen
008. Jeremy Hunt GBR Mrbookmaker-Palmans-Collstrop
009. Ludovic Auger FRA Auber 93
010. Thierry Masschelein BEL Flanders – Afin.com
011. Staf Scheirlinckx BEL Cofidis
012. Roger Hammond GBR Mrbookmaker-Palmans-Collstrop
013. Yuri Metlushenko BEL Landbouwkrediet-Colnago
014. Roy Sentjens NED Rabobank
015. Hans Dekkers NED Rabobank
016. Adriaan Helmantel NED APAC Cycling Team
017. Stijn Vanstraelen BEL Flanders – Afin.com
018. Tommy Van de Gehuchte BEL Cyclingteam Jong Vlaanderen
019. Arno Wallaard NED Axa Cycling Team
020. Wilfried Cretskens BEL Quickstep-Davitamon
021. Roy Curvers NED Van Hemert – Eurogifts
022. John Nilsson SWE Auber 93
023. Bram Tankink NED Quickstep-Davitamon
024. Johan Verstrepen BEL Landbouwkrediet-Colnago
025. Mathew Hayman AUS Rabobank
026. Antonio Cruz USA US Postal – Berry Floor
027. Denys Kostuk UKR Chocolade Jacques – Wincor Nixdorf
028. Paul Van schalen NED Axa Cycling Team
029. Chris Peers BEL Chocolade Jacques – Wincor Nixdorf
030. Robby Meul BEL Jartazi – Granville
031. Marc Lotz NED Rabobank
032. Bart Dockx BEL Bodysol – Brustor
033. Erwin Thijs BEL Mrbookmaker-Palmans-Collstrop
034. Geert Steurs BEL Cyclingteam Jong Vlaanderen
035. Lénaic Olivier FRA Auber 93
036. Tristan Valentin FRA Auber 93
037. Stijn Devolder BEL US Postal – Berry Floor
038. Kirk O’Bree USA Navigators
039. Maarten Den Bakker NED Rabobank
040. Rik Reinerink NED Chocolade Jacques – Wincor Nixdorf
041. Mark Walters CAN Navigators
042. Jan Kuyckx BEL Vlaanderen T-Interim – Eddy Merckx
043. Wouter Van Mechelen BEL Vlaanderen T-Interim – Eddy Merckx
044. Maxime Manfort BEL Landbouwkrediet
045. Gennady Mikhailov RUS US Postal – Berry Floor
046. Robbie Mc Ewen AUS Lotto-Domo
047. Bert Scheirlinckx BEL Flanders – Afin.com
048. Kristof Trouvé BEL Mrbookmaker-Palmans-Collstrop
049. Steffen Weigold GER Lamonta
050. Siro Camponogara ITA Navigators
051. Jos Lucassen NED Axa Cycling Team
052. Marvin Van Der Pluym NED Van Hemert – Eurogifts
053. Bertil Klootwijk NED APAC Cycling Team
054. Christoph V Kleinsorgen GER Lamonta
055. Peter Mohlmann NED Axa Cycling Team
056. Lars Ytting Bak DEN Bankgiroloterij
057. Jimmy Engoulevent FRA Cofidis
058. Niels Scheuneman NED Bodysol – Brustor
059. Jurgen Van den Broeck BEL US Postal – Berry Floor
060. Paul Van Hyfte BEL Vlaanderen T-Interim – Eddy Merckx
061. Folkert De Haan NED APAC Cycling Team
062. Wim Van Huffel BEL Vlaanderen T-Interim – Eddy Merckx
063. Kevin de Weert BEL Rabobank op 34″
064. Geert Omloop BEL Mrbookmaker-Palmans-Collstrop
065. Paul Sneeboer NED APAC Cycling Team
066. Hayden Roulston NZL Cofidis
067. Allan Bo Andresen DEN Bankgiroloterij
068. Ludovic Capelle BEL Landbouwkrediet-Colnago
069. Tomas Vaitkus LTU Landbouwkrediet-Colnago
070. Bert Dewaele BEL Landbouwkrediet-Colnago op 38″
071. Stefan Schumacher GER Lamonta
072. Yannick Talabardon FRA Auber 93
073. David Mckenzie AUS Navigators
074. David Kopp GER Lamonta
075. Leon Van Bon NED Lotto-Domo
076. Loic Lamouller FRA Auber 93
077. Michel Van Haecke BEL Mrbookmaker-Palmans-Collstrop
078. Filip Meirhaeghe BEL Cyclingteam Jong Vlaanderen
079. Cameron Jennings AUS Cyclingnews.com – Down Under
080. Stephen Gallagher IRL Flanders – Afin.com
081. Olivier Huysveld BEL Jartazi – Granville
082. Bjorn Glasner GER Lamonta
083. Laurent Dufaux SUI Quickstep-Davitamon
084. Frank Dressler GER Comnet Senges
085. Preben Van Hecke BEL Bodysol – Brustor
086. Francesco Planckaert BEL Chocolade Jacques – Wincor Nixdorf
087. Wesley Van Speybroeck BEL Vlaanderen T-Interim – Eddy Merckx
088. Hans De Clercq BEL Lotto-Domo
089. Jeroen Blijlevens NED Bankgiroloterij
090. Andy De Smet BEL Mrbookmaker-Palmans-Collstrop
091. Geoffrey Demeyere BEL Vlaanderen T-Interim – Eddy Merckx
092. Morten Hegreberg BEL Jartazi – Granville op 58″
093. Gorik Gardeyn BEL Lotto-Domo
094. Jeroen Boelen NED Van Hemert – Eurogifts
095. Stefan Wijnands BEL Cyclingteam Jong Vlaanderen
096. Ken Devaere BEL Jartazi – Granville
097. Rudy Vriend NED Van Vliet – EBH Advocaten
098. Michaël Blanchy BEL Chocolade Jacques – Wincor Nixdorf
099. Marc Streel BEL Landbouwkrediet-Colnago
100. David Breard FRA Auber 93
101. Jelle van Groezen NED Van Hemert – Eurogifts
102. David Harrigan AUS Cyclingnews.com – Down Under
103. Johan Vansummeren BEL Bodysol – Brustor
104. Niko Eeckhout BEL Lotto-Domo
105. Frederik Penne BEL Jartazi – Granville
106. Jehudi Schoonacker BEL Vlaanderen T-Interim – Eddy Merckx
107. Klaas de Gruyter BEL Jartazi – Granville
108. Harm Bronkhorst NED APAC Cycling Team
109. Maint Berkenbosch NED APAC Cycling Team
110. Thorwald Veneberg NED Rabobank
111. Tom Barras GBR Cyclingnews.com – Down Under
112. Jurgen Van Goolen BEL Quickstep-Davitamon
113. Kurt Van Landeghem BEL Van Vliet – EBH Advocaten
114. Cody Stevenson AUS Cyclingnews.com – Down Under
115. Angelo Van Melis NED Van Vliet – EBH Advocaten
116. Michael Schweizer GER Comnet Senges
117. Peter Magyarosi GER Lamonta
118. Allan Johansen DEN Bankgiroloterij
119. Glenn D’Hollander BEL Lotto-Domo
120. Kenny van Hummel NED Van Hemert – Eurogifts
