This Wednesday the Belgium Tour was opened with a stage in the Flemish Ardennes, containing well-known climbs and cobble sections from the spring classics such as Haaghoek, Leberg, Berendries or Berg ten Houte. Last named was situated on the local parcours around Maarkedal, which had to be repeated four times.
The riders of the World Team constantly made the race hard on this opening day. After a breakaway of Taco van der Hoorn in the beginning of the race, it was Quinten Hermans who jumped to the early breakaway after the first passage of Berg ten Houte and rode briefly in the lead of the race with 70 kilometer to go.
Lorenzo Rota, Loïc Vliegen and Sven Erik Bystrøm continued to make a selection by accelerating in the peloton. At the start of the last lap, the World Team still had five riders in the peloton of around forty riders.
A last pull of the Norwegian rider on the Berg ten Houte, 3 kilometer before the finish, enabled Hermans, Rota and Vliegen to sprint for the victory. The three men ended fourth, sixth and fifteenth respectively in a group of twenty riders.