March 16, 2016 – Timothy Dupont (28) has won the 71st Nokere Koerse Danilith Classic on Nokereberg. The Verandas-Willems rider narrowly won after a mass sprint on the cobblestones of Nokereberg. The 19-year-old Norwegian Kristoffer Halvorsen of team Joker finished second, Dylan Groenewegen came in third.
With the wind at their backs, the peloton covered 48 kilometers from Deinze during the first hour of the race.
At the first passage in Nokere, 7 riders escaped: Devriendt (Wanty-Groupe Gobert), Sénéchal (Cofidis), Boucher (Crelan-Vastgoedservice), Ista (Wallonie-Bruxelles), Van Goethem (Roompot), De Ketele (Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise) and Peter Williams (One Pro Cycling). At the start of the 8 local laps, the gap was 2’40”.
During multiple passages over Nokereberg, Tom Devriendt was the first to cross the finish line, which would earn him the mountain prize.
Under the impetus of LottoNL-Jumbo, in service of their sprinter Dylan Groenewegen, the breakaway riders were caught. After that, the restlessness and nervousness created the necessary excitement.
Guldhammer helmet got stuck in a colleague’s frame. After a tumble in the peloton, Lotto-Soudal was suddenly halved.
But Sean De Bie didn’t let himself be deterred and tried to deceive the peloton with three like-minded riders. In vain, an attempt by Wisniowski stranded three kilometers from the finish.
Verandas Willems brought Dupont to the front in pole position on Nokereberg. He narrowly completed the job ahead of Halvorsen and Groenewegen.
Dupont: “Actually, I was supposed to lead out the sprint for Kruopis”
For Timothy Dupont, after the final stage of the Three Days of West Flanders, this is his second beautiful victory of the season. “I’ve been really good all spring and last week I won in Ichtegem. And then today Nokere Koerse, that’s the best,” Dupont reacted with relief after the finish. “Actually, it wasn’t the plan for me to sprint, but to lead out the sprint for Aidis Kruopis. But at 500 meters from the finish, he must have lost my wheel. I was still shouting ‘Aidis, Aidis’, but I couldn’t see him anymore. So I just went for it from far out. At 100m from the line, I shifted to an easier gear because I felt I was pushing too hard. I kept sprinting full out, I saw someone coming and then I made the jump of my life.”
Kristoffer Halvorsen: “I’m more of an all-rounder”
“I find it really incredible that I’m second here,” declared the 19-year-old Kristoffer Halvorsen afterwards. “It was actually very close, this is a big race for my team,” said Halvorsen. “I do have some sprinting capabilities, but I actually see myself as an all-rounder. I achieved some nice results as a junior, but last year I got sick. Because of that, almost an entire season went down the drain.” “I trained very well this past winter. I can best describe this season as a new start. I want to break through to the pros as quickly as possible. My example? Tom Boonen. Thor Hushovd is also an idol of mine, but Boonen is something else. I’m a big fan of his,” the Norwegian concluded.
Favorite Groenewegen: “Surprised I can still finish third here”
One of the top favorites for the final victory on the Nokereberg was Dutchman Dylan Groenewegen. The LottoNL-Jumbo rider eventually had to be content with third place. “I was way too far back to really play a significant role here,” said Groenewegen. “Three kilometers from the finish, I did everything to move up. The pace in the large group was so high that this only succeeded gradually. Actually, I’m even surprised that I can still finish third here. This was the best possible outcome today. Friday awaits the Handzame Classic. Perhaps the outcome there will also be after a mass sprint. Maybe that finish zone suits me much better.”
Mountain prize winner Tom Devriendt: “Take what you can get”
Traditionally in Nokere Koerse, there is also a mountain prize provided for the fastest during the first seven passages of the local laps. Tom Devriendt was allowed to show off that prize. “I was in that early breakaway and that’s why I wanted to take what I could get,” stated Devriendt. “When we came to the front with seven men, we rotated well. I immediately made that mountain prize a goal.”
