Yves Lampaert of Etixx Quick Step has won the Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen or Three Days Of West Flanders race in Belgium.
Etixx Quick Step's Yves Lampaert led going into the final stage which was saw eleven climbs with six coming on three finishing laps or Trois Jours de Flandre Occidentale of 11.5kms.
Louis Verhelst (Cofidis), Riccardo Stacchiotti (Nippo - Vini Fantini), Jimmy Engoulvent (Team Europcar), Tim Kerkhof (Team Roompot), Jelle Wallays (Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise), Edwig Cammaerts (Veranclassic - Ekoi) and Stef Van Zummeren (Verandas Willems).quickly formed a break on this 184.5km stage from Nieuwport to Ichtegem and were 4.07 ahead.
Kerkhof took the three points on the Kemmelberg climb with one hundred kilometres left as the lead of the seven escapers steaded around the 3.30 mark.
It had dropped under three minutes on a day where temperatures were around the ten degree mark as the riders started towards the local circuits around Ichtegem.
The cobbles of the Steenstraat took that lead down to 1.50 to a peloton which had the race leader positioned nicely and with seven climbs and three more sections of cobbles, the gap came down to under a minute with 42 kilometres left.
It was only a matter of time before the seven escapers were caught and they were joined by a group of seventeen riders to form a new group which comprised of Steve Chainel, Adrien Petit (Cofidis), Jempy Drucker, Klaas Lodewyck (BMC), Yves Lampaert, Gianni Meersman, Guillaume Van Keirsbulck, Lukasz Wisniowski (EFC - Etixx), Kris Boeckmans, Gert Dockx (Lotto - Soudal), Bert-Jan Lindeman, Mike Teunissen (LottoNL - Jumbo), Alexis Gougeard (AG2R), Christoph Pfingsten (Bora - Argon 18), Mattia Pozzo (Nippo - Vini Fantini), Edward Theuns (Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise) and James Vanlandschoot (Wanty - Groupe Gobert).
With the race leader in this lead group, this was a dangerous group which soon had a lead of 22 seconds but was down to eleven seconds, the first time, they crossed the finish line and after Jempy Drucker had taken the second sprint and with twenty six kilometres left,everyone left in the race was all back together.
However, five kilometres later and a good number of this group went again, forming another twenty four man group of Louis Verhelst, Steve Chainel, Adrien Petit (Cofidis), Jempy Drucker, Klaas Lodewyck (BMC), Yves Lampaert, Gianni Meersman, Guillaume Van Keirsbulck, Lukasz Wisniowski (EFC - Etixx), Kris Boeckmans, Gert Dockx (Lotto - Soudal), Bert-Jan Lindeman, Mike Teunissen (LottoNL - Jumbo), Alexis Gougeard (AG2R), Christoph Pfingsten (Bora - Argon 18), Riccardo Stacchiotti, Mattia Pozzo (Nippo - Vini Fantini), Jelle Wallays, Edward Theuns (Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise), James Vanlandschoot (Wanty - Groupe Gobert), Jimmy Engoulvent (Team Europcar), Tim Kerkhof (Team Roompot), Edwig Cammaerts (Veranclassic - Ekoi) and Stef Van Zummeren (Verandas Willems) who were fifteen seconds ahead of Stijn Devolder (Trek Factory Racing) and Bjorn Leukemans (Wanty-Groupe Gobert) and forty seconds ahead of the seventy strong peloton led by Victor Campenaerts (Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise).
The lead was ten seconds as they went over the finish line for the second time with the Keiberg and Ruidenberg climbs and the Fonteinstraat cobbles to go.
Katusha were driving the peloton on and they brought back the escapers for the final ten kilometres.
A new group of thirteen riders in Louis Verhelst, Steve Chainel, Adrien Petit (Cofidis), Jempy Drucker (BMC), Yves Lampaert, Gianni Meersman, Lukasz Wisniowski (EFC - Etixx), Kris Boeckmans (Lotto - Soudal), Bert-Jan Lindeman(LottoNL - Jumbo), Alexis Gougeard (AG2R), Edward Theuns (Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise), James Vanlandschoot (Wanty - Groupe Gobert), Jimmy Engoulvent (Team Europcar) attacked but were only ahead for four kilometres and going into the final five kilometres, it was looking like a bunch sprint.
it did go down to a bunch sprint and it was Danny Van Poppel of Trek Factory Racing who took the win, ahead of Kris Boeckmans (Lotto - Soudal), Michael Van Staeyen (Cofidis), Jean-Pierre Drucker (BMC), . Gianni Meersman (Etixx - Quick Step), Rick Zabel (BMC), Roy Jans (Wanty - Groupe Gobert), Maxime Daniel (AG2R), Sean De Bie (Lotto - Soudal) and Baptiste Planckaert (Roubaix - Lille Metropole), with Yves Lampaert finishing safely in the peloton, the Etixx Quick Step rider took the overall victory.