2017 Record Bank E3 Prijs Harelbeke
(World Tour), Belgium
60th edition: Friday, March 24, 2017
E3 Prijs Harelbeke podium history | 2016 edition | 2018 edition | Course map | Start list
Harelbeke - Harelbeke, 206.1 km.
BMC's Greg van Avermaet gets a big one
Weather at Herelbeke at 5 PM, local time: 12C (55F) , mostly sunny, wind from the east at 15 km/hr (9mph)
The race: Here's the report from winner Greg van Avermaet's BMC team.
Greg Van Avermaet showed he is in winning form when he sprinted to victory at Record Bank E3 Harelbeke, his second UCI WorldTour individual victory of the season.
The sprint for the line came down to Van Avermaet, Philippe Gilbert (Quickstep-Floors) and Olivier Naesen (AG2R), after the trio proved the strongest on the day when they dropped the rest of the field with 30km to go.
Earlier, it took almost two hours of racing for a breakaway to go clear when the peloton finally let six riders escape. The pace in the peloton remained high and the race took a turn when Tom Boonen (Quickstep-Floors) attacked on the Taaienberg with 75km to go. Daniel Oss immediately jumped on Boonen's wheel and a small group of around 20 riders formed, including Van Avermaet and Loïc Vliegen.
The group powered away from the peloton and had a small gap to begin with, before putting the hammer down, extending their lead and catching the breakaway with 66km to go. 30km later, the group was down to seven riders and within 10km, the podium trio had established a solid lead.
Behind, the peloton tried to bridge the gap but their multiple attacks were covered brilliantly by Oss, Vliegen and Silvan Dillier. With 10km to go, the Van Avermaet trio had almost two minutes on the bunch and it was clear the podium would be decided in the sprint.
Van Avermaet kept a close eye on Gilbert and Naesen and had the legs to edge Gilbert out on the line, with Naesen coming in behind.
Van Avermaet's win sees him lead the UCI WorldTour individual ranking.
Interview with Greg Van Avermaet
Congratulations Greg! How does it feel to win today?
"This is a really nice win. I know how hard it is to win here. At the beginning of the year, I had only been on the podium once here in 2008. That says it enough, I think. Every year I come back with high expectations and every year it is hard to win this kind of race. I am happy that I have two wins in my pocket now but at the beginning of the season, I said that Tour of Flanders is my big goal. That still has to happen, but it is nice to start with two victories on home soil."
Were you confident you could win the sprint?
"I was confident, but you are never sure. You have to believe in yourself to win a sprint. I knew that if everything went right, I could beat everyone in a sprint on a hard race but you have to be really focused and everything has to go perfectly. But Gilbert has a good sprint, so you are never 100% sure."
How can you describe the team’s efforts today?
"I think we were much better today than in Milan-San Remo. I also made a mistake there to not get into the right position at a crucial moment, but today they did well. They positioned me in the right place. Daniel Oss has to stand up; he is a good guy. I really believe in him, and he is one of the strongest riders in the peloton and with Stefan Küng and Jempy Drucker, I think we can be confident. We don't have the team like Quickstep-Floors, but we have strong guys who can help me, and I am really confident in them."
Does the win give you confidence before Ronde van Vlaanderen?
"It always helps with your confidence going into a big race when you get the win, and the guys know that I am good and that I will always try. If you win, you see that the team gets stronger and more confident. It's good to start a race like Ronde van Vlaanderen with the confidence of the team. They know I am ready and when the leader is good, most of the time the team comes also."
Fabio Baldato, Sports Director: "Greg was looking strong today, and he wanted to go early. Behind him, the team was really strong and controlling the other moves and the other riders. Daniel Oss, Silvan Dillier, and Loïc Vliegen were up there, and if we hadn't lost Jempy Drucker and Martin Elmiger due to flat tires, I am sure they would have been up there too. I am happy with the team and the job they did, and of course, Greg was amazing finishing off the job and taking the win."
"Greg was driving the race along. He knew what he wanted to do and what he need to do. He made a move with two strong guys and then did a super job to do what we hoped, and knew, he could. We are confident for the next two Classics, and we go to Gent-Wevelgem with Greg as our leader once again. For now, we can enjoy today before we start to refocus for Sunday and then towards Ronde van Vlaanderen."
Complete Results:
206.1 kilometers raced at an average speed of 42.895 km/hr
1 | Greg VAN AVERMAET | BMC | 4hr 48min 17sec |
2 | Philippe GILBERT | Quick-Step | s.t. |
3 | Oliver NAESEN | Ag2r La Mondiale | s.t. |
4 | Luke DURBRIDGE | Orica-Scott | @ 40sec |
5 | Lukas PÖSTLBERGER | Bora-hansgrohe | @ 41sec |
6 | MICHAEL VALGREN ANDERSEN | Astana | @ 52sec |
7 | Sonny COLBRELLI | Bahrain-Merida | s.t. |
8 | Tom BOONEN | Quick-Step | s.t. |
9 | Dylan VAN BAARLE | Cannondale Drapac | s.t. |
10 | Alberto BETTIOL | Cannondale Drapac | s.t. |
11 | Fabio FELLINE | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
12 | Jens KEUKELEIRE | Orica-Scott | s.t. |
13 | John DEGENKOLB | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
14 | Tiesj BENOOT | Lotto Soudal | s.t. |
15 | Luke ROWE | Sky | s.t. |
16 | Sebastian LANGEVELD | Cannondale Drapac | s.t. |
17 | Laurens DE VREESE | Astana | s.t. |
18 | Ignatas KONOVALOVAS | FDJ | s.t. |
19 | Niki TERPSTRA | Quick-Step | s.t. |
20 | Daniel OSS | BMC | s.t. |
21 | Tony MARTIN | Katusha Alpecin | s.t. |
22 | Matteo TRENTIN | Quick-Step | @ 57sec |
23 | Sep VANMARCKE | Cannondale Drapac | +1:53 |
24 | Magnus Cort NIELSEN | Orica-Scott | +2:12 |
25 | Borut BOZIC | Bahrain-Merida | s.t. |
26 | Sacha MODOLO | UAE Abu Dhabi | s.t. |
27 | Alexander KRISTOFF | Katusha Alpecin | s.t. |
28 | Ramon SINKELDAM | Sunweb | s.t. |
29 | Olivier LE GAC | FDJ | s.t. |
30 | Scott THWAITES | Dimension Data | s.t. |
31 | Jasper DE BUYST | Lotto Soudal | s.t. |
32 | Iljo KEISSE | Quick-Step | s.t. |
33 | Luka PIBERNIK | Bahrain-Merida | s.t. |
34 | Frederik BACKAERT | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | s.t. |
35 | Koen DE KORT | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
36 | Guillaume VAN KEIRSBULCK | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | s.t. |
37 | Mathew HAYMAN | Orica-Scott | s.t. |
38 | Taco VAN DER HOORN | Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij | s.t. |
39 | Carlos BARBERO CUESTA | Movistar | s.t. |
40 | Loïc VLIEGEN | BMC | s.t. |
41 | Jasha SÜTTERLIN | Movistar | s.t. |
42 | Bryan COQUARD | Direct Energie | s.t. |
43 | Gijs VAN HOECKE | Lotto NL-Jumbo | s.t. |
44 | Stijn DEVOLDER | Veranda's Willems-Crelan | s.t. |
45 | Bram TANKINK | Lotto NL-Jumbo | s.t. |
46 | Jos VAN EMDEN | Lotto NL-Jumbo | s.t. |
47 | Jean-Pierre DRUCKER | BMC | s.t. |
48 | Jelle WALLAYS | Lotto Soudal | s.t. |
49 | Huub DUYN | Veranda's Willems-Crelan | s.t. |
50 | Thomas SPRENGERS | Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | s.t. |
51 | Alexey LUTSENKO | Astana | s.t. |
52 | Kevin ISTA | WB Veranclassic | s.t. |
53 | Zdenek ŠTYBAR | Quick-Step | +2:16 |
54 | Lukasz WISNIOWSKI | Sky | s.t. |
55 | Silvan DILLIER | BMC | s.t. |
56 | Ian STANNARD | Sky | s.t. |
57 | Ivan GARCIA CORTINA | Bahrain-Merida | s.t. |
58 | Christopher JUUL JENSEN | Orica-Scott | s.t. |
59 | Tom SCULLY | Cannondale Drapac | s.t. |
60 | Antoine DUCHESNE | Direct Energie | s.t. |
61 | Sylvain CHAVANEL | Direct Energie | s.t. |
62 | Gianni MOSCON | Sky | +2:20 |
63 | Vegard Stake LAENGEN | UAE Abu Dhabi | s.t. |
64 | Marco MARCATO | UAE Abu Dhabi | +2:29 |
65 | Tyler FARRAR | Dimension Data | +2:43 |
66 | Hugo HOULE | Ag2r La Mondiale | +6:15 |
67 | Aleksei TCATEVICH | Gazprom-Rusvelo | s.t. |
68 | Dmitriy GRUZDEV | Astana | s.t. |
69 | Reto HOLLENSTEIN | Katusha Alpecin | s.t. |
70 | Nils POLITT | Katusha Alpecin | s.t. |
71 | Stijn VANDENBERGH | Ag2r La Mondiale | s.t. |
72 | Michael MORKOV | Katusha Alpecin | s.t. |
73 | Martin ELMIGER | BMC | s.t. |
74 | Eliot LIETAER | Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | s.t. |
75 | Søren Kragh ANDERSEN | Sunweb | s.t. |
76 | Tom VAN ASBROECK | Cannondale Drapac | s.t. |
77 | Mickael DELAGE | FDJ | s.t. |
78 | Alexis GOUGEARD | Ag2r La Mondiale | s.t. |
79 | Kristijan KOREN | Cannondale Drapac | s.t. |
80 | Marcus BURGHARDT | Bora-hansgrohe | s.t. |
81 | Bert DE BACKER | Sunweb | +8:36 |
82 | Elmar REINDERS | Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij | s.t. |
83 | Twan CASTELIJNS | Lotto NL-Jumbo | s.t. |
84 | Floris GERFS | BMC | s.t. |
85 | Matthieu LADAGNOUS | FDJ | s.t. |
86 | Jorge ARCAS PEÑA | Movistar | s.t. |
87 | Kenneth VAN ROOY | Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | s.t. |
88 | Moreno HOFLAND | Lotto Soudal | s.t. |
89 | Romain CARDIS | Direct Energie | s.t. |
90 | Mads PEDERSEN | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
91 | Sjoerd VAN GINNEKEN | Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij | s.t. |
92 | Julien VERMOTE | Quick-Step | s.t. |
93 | Julien DUVAL | Ag2r La Mondiale | s.t. |
94 | Nuno MATOS | Movistar | s.t. |
95 | Manuel QUINZIATO | BMC | s.t. |
96 | Lars BOOM | Lotto NL-Jumbo | s.t. |
97 | Simone CONSONNI | UAE Abu Dhabi | s.t. |
98 | Kris BOECKMANS | Lotto Soudal | +8:39 |
99 | Edvald BOASSON HAGEN | Dimension Data | +10:45 |
100 | Sven erik BYSTRØM | Katusha Alpecin | s.t. |
101 | Erik BASKA | Bora-hansgrohe | s.t. |
102 | Maciej BODNAR | Bora-hansgrohe | s.t. |
103 | Sander CORDEEL | Veranda's Willems-Crelan | s.t. |
104 | Alexander PORSEV | Gazprom-Rusvelo | s.t. |
105 | Igor BOEV | Gazprom-Rusvelo | s.t. |
106 | Julien MORICE | Direct Energie | s.t. |
107 | Nans PETERS | Ag2r La Mondiale | s.t. |
108 | Peter SAGAN | Bora-hansgrohe | s.t. |
109 | Alexandre PICHOT | Direct Energie | s.t. |
110 | Remy MERTZ | Lotto Soudal | s.t. |
111 | Pavel BRUTT | Gazprom-Rusvelo | s.t. |
112 | Aime DE GENDT | Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | s.t. |
Start list with back numbers, March 23:
BORA-HANSGROHE | |
1 | SAGAN Peter |
2 | BASKA Erik |
3 | BODNAR Maciej |
4 | BURGHARDT Marcus |
5 | PFINGSTEN Christoph |
6 | POSTLBERGER Lukas |
7 | SAGAN Juraj |
8 | SARAMOTINS Aleksejs |
QUICK-STEP FLOORS | |
11 | BOONEN Tom |
12 | GILBERT Philippe |
13 | BAUER Jack |
14 | KEISSE Iljo |
15 | VERMOTE Julien |
16 | STYBAR Zdenek |
17 | TERPSTRA Niki |
18 | TRENTIN Matteo |
LOTTO - SOUDAL | |
21 | BENOOT Tiesj |
22 | BOECKMANS Kris |
23 | HOFLAND Moreno |
24 | MAES Nikolas |
25 | WALLAYS Jelle |
26 | DE BUYST Jasper |
27 | MERTZ Rémy |
28 | GALLOPIN Tony |
BMC RACING TEAM | |
31 | VAN AVERMAET Greg |
32 | DILLIER Silvan |
33 | DRUCKER Jean Pierre |
34 | ELMIGER Martin |
35 | GERTS Floris |
36 | VLIEGEN Loïc |
37 | QUINZIATO Manuel |
38 | OSS Daniel |
TEAM SKY | |
41 | ROWE Luke |
42 | STANNARD Ian |
43 | MOSCON Gianni |
44 | PUCCIO Salvatore |
45 | DOULL Owain |
46 | KNEES Christian |
47 | VAN POPPEL Danny |
48 | WISNIOWSKI Lukasz |
AG2R LA MONDIALE | |
51 | VANDENBERGH Stijn |
52 | NAESEN Oliver |
53 | DUVAL Julien |
54 | GOUGEARD Alexis |
55 | HOULE Hugo |
56 | DENZ Nico |
57 | PETERS Nans |
58 | BAGDONAS Gediminas |
ASTANA PRO TEAM | |
61 | DE VREESE Laurens |
62 | BRESCHEL Matti |
63 | GATTO Oscar |
64 | GRIVKO Andriy |
65 | GRUZDEV Dmitriy |
66 | LUTSENKO Alexey |
67 | KORSAETH Truls Engen |
68 | VALGREN ANDERSEN Michael |
BAHRAIN - MERIDA | |
71 | FENG Chun Kai |
72 | BONIFAZIO Niccolo |
73 | BOZIC Borut |
74 | COLBRELLI Sonny |
75 | GARCIA CORTINA Ivan |
76 | INSAUSTI IRASTORZA Jon Ander |
77 | PER David |
78 | PIBERNIK Luka |
CANNONDALE-DRAPAC | |
81 | VANMARCKE Sep |
82 | VAN ASBROECK Tom |
83 | KOREN Kristjan |
84 | LANGEVELD Sebastian |
85 | SCULLY Thomas |
86 | BETTIOL Alberto |
87 | VAN BAARLE Dylan |
88 | MULLEN Ryan |
FDJ | |
91 | FOURNIER Marc |
92 | DELAGE Mickael |
93 | GUARNIERI Jacopo |
94 | MANZIN Lorrenzo |
95 | KONOVALOVAS Ignatas |
96 | LADAGNOUS Matthieu |
97 | LE GAC Olivier |
98 | SARREAU Marc |
MOVISTAR TEAM | |
101 | ARCAS PEÑA Jorge |
102 | BARBERO CUESTA Carlos |
103 | BICO MATOS Nuno Miguel Alves |
104 | BETANCUR GOMEZ Carlos Alberto |
105 | CARRETERO Hector |
106 | PEDRERO LOPEZ Antonio |
107 | QUINTANA ROJAS Dayer Uberney |
108 | SÜTTERLIN Jasha |
ORICA - SCOTT | |
111 | KEUKELEIRE Jens |
112 | KLUGE Roger |
113 | DURBRIDGE Luke |
114 | HAYMAN Mathew |
115 | MEZGEC Luka |
116 | JUUL JENSEN Christopher |
117 | DOCKER Mitchell |
118 | CORT NIELSEN Magnus |
DIMENSION DATA | |
121 | BOASSON HAGEN Edvald |
122 | DOUGALL Nick |
123 | EISEL Bernhard |
124 | FARRAR Tyler |
125 | RENSHAW Mark |
126 | REGUIGUI Youcef |
127 | THOMSON Jay Robert |
128 | THWAITES Scott |
KATUSHA-ALPECIN | |
131 | KRISTOFF Alexander |
132 | BYSTROM Sven Erik |
133 | HALLER Marco |
134 | HOLLENSTEIN Reto |
135 | BIERMANS Jenthe |
136 | MARTIN Tony |
137 | MORKOV Michael |
138 | POLITT Nils |
LOTTO NL - JUMBO | |
141 | BOOM Lars |
142 | CASTELIJNS Twan |
143 | LEEZER Tom |
144 | WAGNER Robert |
145 | TANKINK Bram |
146 | VAN EMDEN Jos |
147 | VAN HOECKE Gijs |
148 | WYNANTS Maarten |
TEAM SUNWEB | |
151 | ANDERSEN Søren Kragh |
152 | CURVERS Roy |
153 | DE BACKER Bert |
154 | SINKELDAM Ramon |
155 | STAMSNIJDER Tom |
156 | TEUNISSEN Mike |
157 | TIMMER Albert |
158 | WAEYTENS Zico |
TREK-SEGAFREDO | |
161 | STUYVEN Jasper |
162 | COLEDAN Marco |
163 | DEGENKOLB John |
164 | DE KORT Koen |
165 | FELLINE Fabio |
166 | PEDERSEN Mads |
167 | RAST Grégory |
168 | BEPPU Fumiyuki |
UAE - TEAM EMIRATES | |
171 | CONSONNI Simone |
172 | GUARDINI Andrea |
173 | KUMP Marko |
174 | LAENGEN Vegard Stake |
175 | MARCATO Marco |
176 | MODOLO Sacha |
177 | TROIA Oliviero |
178 | ZURLO Federico |
SPORT VLAANDEREN-BALOISE | |
181 | ALLEGAERT Piet |
182 | DE GENDT Aimé |
183 | DECLERCQ Benjamin |
184 | LIETAER Eliot |
185 | SPRENGERS Thomas |
186 | VAN GESTEL Dries |
187 | VAN ROOY Kenneth |
188 | VAN HECKE Preben |
VERANDA'S WILLEMS-CRELAN | |
191 | DEVOLDER Stijn |
192 | CORDEEL Sander |
193 | DE BONDT Dries |
194 | BILLE Gaetan |
195 | DUYN Huub |
196 | VAN BREUSSEGEM Elias |
197 | VAN ZUMMEREN Stef |
198 | VERGAERDE Otto |
WANTY – GROUPE GOBERT | |
201 | VAN KEIRSBULCK Guillaume |
202 | BACKAERT Frederik |
203 | KREDER Wesley |
204 | OFFREDO Yoann |
205 | ANTONINI Simone |
206 | VAN MELSEN Kevin |
207 | VANSPEYBROUCK Pieter |
208 | BAUGNIES Jérôme |
WB-VERANCLASSIC AQUALITY PROTECT | |
211 | DE WINTER Ludwig |
212 | ISTA Kevin |
213 | KIRSCH Alex |
214 | MASSON Christophe |
215 | NAESEN Lawrence |
216 | DUQUENNOY Jimmy |
217 | ROBEET Ludovic |
218 | STASSEN Julien |
DIRECT ENERGIE | |
221 | CHAVANEL Sylvain |
222 | CARDIS Romain |
223 | ANDERSON Ryan |
224 | COQUARD Bryan |
225 | DUCHESNE Antoine |
226 | MORICE Julien |
227 | PETIT Adrien |
228 | PICHOT Alexandre |
GAZPROM - RUSVELO | |
231 | BRUTT Pavel |
232 | BOEV Igor |
233 | PORSEV Alexander |
234 | SAVITSKY Ivan |
235 | MAIKIN Roman |
236 | SOLOMENNIKOV Andrey |
237 | TSATEVITCH Alexey |
238 | TRUSOV Nikolai |
ROOMPOT-NEDERLANDSE LOTERIJ | |
241 | ASSELMAN Jesper |
242 | DE VRIES Berden |
243 | LIGTHART Pim |
244 | REINDERS Elmar |
245 | VAN DER HOORN Taco |
246 | VAN GINNEKEN Sjoerd |
247 | VAN GOETHEM Brian |
248 | VERMELTFOORT Coen |