Iljo Keisse leads Etixx-Quick-Step sweep at Ronde van Zeeland Seaports
Iljo Keisse leads an Etixx-Quick-Step sweep of the top four spots at the Ronde van Zeeland Seaports
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Etixx-Quick-Step swept the podium and then some at the Ronde van Zeeland Seaports on Saturday.
Iljo Keisse, Niki Terpstra and Lukasz Wisniowski escaped a lead group of more than 30 riders with 100km remaining in the 196.1km Dutch race and eventually took more than four minutes’ advantage with 25km to go.
Back in the bunch, Guillaume Van Keirsbulck, Nikolas Maes, Matteo Trentin, and Yves Lampaert kept an eye on things for their three teammates.
Going into the last two laps the pursuit had dwindled to 18 riders, then split again, leaving Lampaert in the first chase with Edward Theuns (Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise) in the final 2km.
In the finale, Keisse took the victory ahead of Terpstra and Wisniowski.
And for good measure, Lampaert took the measure of Theuns to finish fourth on the day.
“I’m so happy with this win,” Keisse said. “It’s a really nice favor from Niki Terpstra and Lukasz Wisniowski to let me win. The hard work I did in the past years finally paid off and I’m thankful my teammates thought of me in this way. Niki did tell me as long as I still have good legs in the next races to help him win, so I will try my best to repay his good deed.”
