BEMER Cyclassics

Agonizingly close for Lampaert in Hamburg

In his first appearance since the World Championships in Glasgow, Yves Lampaert came within 75 meters of winning the Bemer Cyclassics, only to be denied after one of the most insane final kilometers of a race this year.

The Belgian had been a protagonist in the last 15 kilometers of the race, when the peloton split the last time up the Waseberg (800m, 8.7%), leaving only a handful of riders at the front. From that small group, two men attacked and went clear, but they were soon joined by an incredibly strong Lampaert, whose huge effort helped him make up ground as they travelled through the outskirts of Hamburg.

Yves was the engine of that move, taking some really long pulls that helped them put a maximum gap of 16 seconds between them and the bunch that was slowly regrouping. When the margin began to come down, the Belgian continued to believe in their chances and didn’t miss a turn at the front, which helped the trio enter the last kilometer with five seconds in hand.

Around 500 meters from the line, Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) attacked, prompting a response from Yves, who caught and passed the US rider. For a moment there, it looked like he would make it, but a late surge of Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) put an end to his hopes, and the 32-year-old from Izegem eventually finished in sixth place.

“On the last ascent of the Waseberg, a group with myself and Florian rode clear. It wa s avery good situation for us. When Politt and McNulty rode away, I wanted to go with them so that Florian could keep his energy in case it came down to a sprint. We had a nice gap and rode full gas, but they came back incredibly close to the finish. Despite this, I felt good today and now I’m even more motivated for the next events”, said Yves after his second top ten of the season in a World Tour one-day race, following the podium he scored in the spring, at the Classic Brugge-De Panne.

 

Photo credit: ©Maximiliano Blanco / Getty Images