Axel Zingle (Cofidis) was the strongest on the long uphill straightaway sprint to take the victory at the rain-soaked Famenne Ardenne Classic.
Zingle had a clear run at the finish on the left-hand side of the road to take the win ahead of Amaury Capiot (Team Arkéa Samsic) on the right, with Oliver Naesen (AG2R Citroën Team) securing third place in Marche-en-Famenne.
Lotto Soudal had their work cut out for them managing the gap to the day-long breakaway and then setting up Arnaud De Lie for the final sprint. However, De Lie crashed after sliding out on the wet tarmac in the final leaving the team without a contender for the sprint.
Capiot started the sprint early with Tim Merlier (Alpecin-Deceuninck) on his wheel, but the Belgian Champion was boxed in on the right between Capiot and the roadside fencing.
Capiot continued his sprint but was passed by a charging Zingle on the far left of the road. Naesen launched himself off of Capiot’s wheel up the centre of the road to finish third.
More to follow…
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