Jens Debusschere snatched victory of the Tour de l'Eurométropole (Circuit Franco/Belge), with a second place on the fourth and final stage in Tournai.
Jens Debusschere of Lotto Belisol led Michael Morkov of Saxo-Tinkoff by three seconds going into this final 153.8km stage from Mons to Tournai but it was Daniel, Valentin, Dron, Warnier & Eeckhout who were in the first real attack and they took a 5.17 lead by the 50kms gone mark.
Boris Dron took the six points at the first GPM Checkpoint of the day and the second after Vanmarcke who had tried an attack just after the flag dropped had abandoned.
With just under eighty kilometres to go, the lead of the five escapers was down to 2.18.
Dron took the third checkpoint and was second at the fourth with 50kms to go as the peloton closed in and caught the escapers.
So Dron and Van Keirsbulck mounted another attack and took a thirteen second lead before they were hauled in by the peloton who were gearing up for the first sprint of the day which Argos Shimano's John Degenkolb won ahead of Drucker and Habeaux to move within four seconds of Debusschere's lead.
Into the final thirty kilometres and a new break involving Roelandts, Terpstra, Lodewyck, Dillier, Curvers, Sinkeldam, Porsev, Morkov, Mol, Hinault, Sbaragli and Lequarte formed. With Michael Morkov in this group and second on GC, this break was a dangerous one and had a 22 second lead and it was no surprise that Lotto Bellisol quickly brought it under control.
Pim Ligthart took the third sprint but was not in the front runners of Van Keirsbruck, Eijssen, Hinault & Koretzky with five kilometres remaining.
They were caught with 3kms to go and Argos Shimano's John Degenkolb took the win ahead of Jens Debusschere and Tyler Farrar to give Debusschere the overall victory, which was reached after much deliberation.
Speaking about John Degenkolb's win, Argos Shimano coach Mark Reef said to his team's press office: "It was another nice victory from John today, but it's disappointing that he did not win the GC.
"They all did a great job, always racing attentively. The brought John to the finish in a great position. He started the sprint himself, which is his forte, and took the win. It's good that he is making the most of his good form."
"The stage was perfect for us, the team did a great job and we finished it off well," said Degenkolb after his podium duties.
"Unfortunately the rules for the overall were not in my favour, as even though I had two wins and was on the same time overall the GC went to Debusschere (Lotto Belisol) on a count back of accumulated overall positions.
"It was great to see that we were the strongest team at this race and I'm very happy with the support that I received. I still have two chances left this season with Paris Bourges and Paris Tours, and my form is good, so I'm looking forward to the final part of my season."
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