Instead of cheering and celebrating his win on Wednesday, Tim Wellens solemnly pointed to the sky in remembrance of the late Michael Goolaerts when he crossed the line to win Brabantse Pijl.
Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain-Merida) won the sprint for second place ahead of Wellens’s Lotto-Soudal teammate Tiesj Benoot.
Top-10 results
- 1. Tim Wellens, LOTTO SOUDAL, in 04:42:48
- 2. Sonny Colbrelli, BAHRAIN – MERIDA, at 0:00:09
- 3. Tiesj Benoot, LOTTO SOUDAL, at 0:00:09
- 4. Pieter Serry, QUICK – STEP FLOORS, at 0:00:09
- 5. Jan Tratnik, CCC SPRANDI POLKOWICE, at 0:00:09
- 6. Andrea Pasqualon, WANTY – GROUPE GOBERT, at 0:00:09
- 7. Dylan Teuns, BMC RACING TEAM, at 0:00:09
- 8. Huub Duijn, VERANDA’S WILLEMS – CRELAN, at 0:00:12
- 9. Thomas Sprengers, SPORT VLAANDEREN – BALOISE, at 0:00:14
- 10. Daryl Impey, MITCHELTON – SCOTT, at 0:00:14
After the race, Wellens said, “I didn’t want to celebrate because everybody’s thinking about [Goolaerts]. I didn’t know him personally but it’s very bad what happened.”
Three days prior at Paris-Roubaix, Goolaerts, 23, suffered heart failure and crashed. He was taken to a local hospital but could not be resuscitated.
A minute of silence was observed before the start of the race in Leuven, Belgium in memory of Goolaerts.
Into the finale of the 201.9km race, Jack Haig (Mitchelton-Scott) and Tosh Van der Sande (Lotto-Soudal) held a 30-second gap until Colbrelli attacked one of the route’s short, cobbled climbs with around 18km remaining. The peloton caught the duo with 12 kilometers to go.
With the early attack neutralized, a lead group of about seven riders formed.
“It was our plan to send a rider in the break afterwards and that was the case with Tosh Van der Sande,” said Wellens. “I thought for a while that they would remain ahead as there was not immediately a team that took control of the chase.”
Then, it was Wellens’s turn to attack. The Belgian climber went clear into a slight headwind with about six kilometers remaining.
With his teammate Benoot sitting back in the chase, the gap grew quickly, and Wellens rode alone to victory.
Dylan Teuns hit out first in the final kilometer, which included one last climb. Although he wound up the pace, the Belgian BMC rider was swamped in the final few hundred meters as Colbrelli opened up his sprint. Benoot made it two Lotto-Soudal riders on the day’s podium.
After the race, in addition to honoring Goolaerts’s memory, Wellens looked ahead to the big hilly classics that start Sunday with Amstel Gold Race.
“There are four chances and today was the first of the four, and I’m happy to win here,” he said.
Results
- 1. Tim Wellens, LOTTO SOUDAL, in 04:42:48
- 2. Sonny Colbrelli, BAHRAIN – MERIDA, at 0:00:09
- 3. Tiesj Benoot, LOTTO SOUDAL, at 0:00:09
- 4. Pieter Serry, QUICK – STEP FLOORS, at 0:00:09
- 5. Jan Tratnik, CCC SPRANDI POLKOWICE, at 0:00:09
- 6. Andrea Pasqualon, WANTY – GROUPE GOBERT, at 0:00:09
- 7. Dylan Teuns, BMC RACING TEAM, at 0:00:09
- 8. Huub Duijn, VERANDA’S WILLEMS – CRELAN, at 0:00:12
- 9. Thomas Sprengers, SPORT VLAANDEREN – BALOISE, at 0:00:14
- 10. Daryl Impey, MITCHELTON – SCOTT, at 0:00:14
- 11. Paul Martens, TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO, at 0:00:14
- 12. Dries Van Gestel, SPORT VLAANDEREN – BALOISE, at 0:00:14
- 13. Serge Pauwels, TEAM DIMENSION DATA, at 0:00:14
- 14. Carlos Verona, MITCHELTON – SCOTT, at 0:00:14
- 15. Edvald Boasson Hagen, TEAM DIMENSION DATA, at 0:00:14
- 16. Jesus Herrada, COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS, at 0:00:14
- 17. Oscar Riesebeek, ROOMPOT – NEDERLANDSE LOTERIJ, at 0:00:14
- 18. Hermann Pernsteiner, BAHRAIN – MERIDA, at 0:00:14
- 19. Bryan Coquard, VITAL CONCEPT CYCLING CLUB, at 0:00:19
- 20. Xandro Meurisse, WANTY – GROUPE GOBERT, at 0:00:19
- 21. Warren Barguil, TEAM FORTUNEO – SAMSIC, at 0:00:19
- 22. Justin Jules, WB AQUA PROTECT VERANCLASSIC, at 0:00:19
- 23. Fabien Grellier, DIRECT ENERGIE, at 0:00:23
- 24. Lawrence Warbasse, AQUA BLUE SPORT, at 0:00:23
- 25. Luis Angel Mate Mardones, COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS, at 0:00:29
- 26. Kristian Sbaragli, ISRAEL CYCLING ACADEMY, at 0:00:29
- 27. Marco Canola, NIPPO – VINI FANTINI – EUROPA OVINI, at 0:00:29
- 28. Scott Davies, TEAM DIMENSION DATA, at 0:00:29
- 29. Rob Power, MITCHELTON – SCOTT, at 0:00:36
- 30. Jose Herrada, COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS, at 0:00:36
- 31. Enrico Battaglin, TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO, at 0:00:36
- 32. Grega Bole, BAHRAIN – MERIDA, at 0:00:36
- 33. Lukasz Owsian, CCC SPRANDI POLKOWICE, at 0:00:47
- 34. Guillaume Boivin, ISRAEL CYCLING ACADEMY, at 0:00:51
- 35. Mathias De Witte, VERANDA’S WILLEMS – CRELAN, at 0:00:51
- 36. Kevin Reza, VITAL CONCEPT CYCLING CLUB, at 0:00:51
- 37. Frantisek Sisr, CCC SPRANDI POLKOWICE, at 0:00:51
- 38. Enrico Gasparotto, BAHRAIN – MERIDA, at 0:00:51
- 39. Pieter Weening, ROOMPOT – NEDERLANDSE LOTERIJ, at 0:00:51
- 40. Jelle Vanendert, LOTTO SOUDAL, at 0:00:55
- 41. Preben Van Hecke, SPORT VLAANDEREN – BALOISE, at 0:01:15
- 42. Pim Ligthart, ROOMPOT – NEDERLANDSE LOTERIJ, at 0:01:17
- 43. Yukiya Arashiro, BAHRAIN – MERIDA, at 0:01:18
- 44. Patrick MÜller, VITAL CONCEPT CYCLING CLUB, at 0:01:18
- 45. Frederik Backaert, WANTY – GROUPE GOBERT, at 0:01:18
- 46. Julien Mortier, WB AQUA PROTECT VERANCLASSIC, at 0:01:18
- 47. Benjamin Declercq, SPORT VLAANDEREN – BALOISE, at 0:01:18
- 48. Kevin Deltombe, SPORT VLAANDEREN – BALOISE, at 0:01:18
- 49. Floris Gerts, ROOMPOT – NEDERLANDSE LOTERIJ, at 0:01:18
- 50. Aaron Gate, AQUA BLUE SPORT, at 0:01:18
- 51. Rémi Cavagna, QUICK – STEP FLOORS, at 0:01:18
- 52. Tomasz Marczynski, LOTTO SOUDAL, at 0:01:18
- 53. Simone Ponzi, NIPPO – VINI FANTINI – EUROPA OVINI, at 0:01:18
- 54. Julien Vermote, TEAM DIMENSION DATA, at 0:01:18
- 55. Anthony Perez, COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS, at 0:01:18
- 56. Edward Dunbar, AQUA BLUE SPORT, at 0:01:25
- 57. Christopher Juul Jensen, MITCHELTON – SCOTT, at 0:01:25
- 58. Jérôme Baugnies, WANTY – GROUPE GOBERT, at 0:01:25
- 59. Elie Gesbert, TEAM FORTUNEO – SAMSIC, at 0:01:37
- 60. Dion Smith, WANTY – GROUPE GOBERT, at 0:01:49
- 61. Dorian Godon, COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS, at 0:02:00
- 62. Quentin Pacher, VITAL CONCEPT CYCLING CLUB, at 0:02:01
- 63. Maxime Monfort, LOTTO SOUDAL, at 0:02:01
- 64. Dimitri Peyskens, WB AQUA PROTECT VERANCLASSIC, at 0:02:05
- 65. Kasper Asgreen, QUICK – STEP FLOORS, at 0:02:26
- 66. Bert-Jan Lindeman, TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO, at 0:02:35
- 67. Jonas Koch, CCC SPRANDI POLKOWICE, at 0:02:40
- 68. Jhonnatan Narvaez, QUICK – STEP FLOORS, at 0:02:40
- 69. Krists Neilands, ISRAEL CYCLING ACADEMY, at 0:02:40
- 70. Joseph Rosskopf, BMC RACING TEAM, at 0:02:40
- 71. Brent Bookwalter, BMC RACING TEAM, at 0:02:40
- 72. Bob Jungels, QUICK – STEP FLOORS, at 0:02:40
- 73. Maxime Vantomme, WB AQUA PROTECT VERANCLASSIC, at 0:03:17
- 74. Romain Sicard, DIRECT ENERGIE, at 0:03:28
- 75. Zico Waeytens, VERANDA’S WILLEMS – CRELAN, at 0:03:44
- 76. Davide Martinelli, QUICK – STEP FLOORS, at 0:04:22
- 77. Jack Haig, MITCHELTON – SCOTT, at 0:04:35
- 78. Tosh Van Der Sande, LOTTO SOUDAL, at 0:04:35
- 79. Pawel Bernas, CCC SPRANDI POLKOWICE, at 0:04:35
- 80. Marco Tizza, NIPPO – VINI FANTINI – EUROPA OVINI, at 0:06:26
- 81. Brice Feillu, TEAM FORTUNEO – SAMSIC, at 0:06:26
- 82. Lasse Norman Hansen, AQUA BLUE SPORT, at 0:07:57
- 83. Elmar Reinders, ROOMPOT – NEDERLANDSE LOTERIJ, at 0:07:57
- 84. Nathan Van Hooydonck, BMC RACING TEAM, at 0:07:57
- 85. Arjen Livyns, VERANDA’S WILLEMS – CRELAN, at 0:07:57
- 86. Tyler Williams, ISRAEL CYCLING ACADEMY, at 0:07:57
- 87. August Jensen, ISRAEL CYCLING ACADEMY, at 0:07:57
- 88. Michal Paluta, CCC SPRANDI POLKOWICE, at 0:07:57
- 89. Charles Planet, TEAM NOVO NORDISK, at 0:09:18
- 90. Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier Werkilul, TEAM DIMENSION DATA, at 0:09:18
- 91. Casper Phillip Pedersen, AQUA BLUE SPORT, at 0:09:18
- 92. Amael Moinard, TEAM FORTUNEO – SAMSIC, at 0:09:18
- 93. Thomas Boudat, DIRECT ENERGIE, at 0:16:12
- 94. Dries De Bondt, VERANDA’S WILLEMS – CRELAN, at 0:17:15
- 95. Daan Olivier, TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO, at 0:17:44
- 96. Marino Kobayashi, NIPPO – VINI FANTINI – EUROPA OVINI, at 0:17:44
- 97. Joonas Henttala, TEAM NOVO NORDISK, at 0:17:44
- 98. Christophe Masson, WB AQUA PROTECT VERANCLASSIC, at 0:17:44
- 99. Tom Bohli, BMC RACING TEAM, at 0:17:44
- 100. David Lozano Riba, TEAM NOVO NORDISK, at 0:17:44
- DNF Odd Christian Eiking, WANTY – GROUPE GOBERT
- DNF Reid Mcclure, TEAM NOVO NORDISK
- DNF Remy Mertz, LOTTO SOUDAL
- DNF Hendrikus Van Ijzendoorn, TEAM NOVO NORDISK
- DNF Sean De Bie, VERANDA’S WILLEMS – CRELAN
- DNF Elias Van Breussegem, VERANDA’S WILLEMS – CRELAN
- DNF Brian Kamstra, TEAM NOVO NORDISK
- DNF Rein TaaramÄe, DIRECT ENERGIE
- DNF Yoann Bagot, VITAL CONCEPT CYCLING CLUB
- DNF Johann Van Zyl, TEAM DIMENSION DATA
- DNF Tanguy Turgis, VITAL CONCEPT CYCLING CLUB
- DNF Kilian Frankiny, BMC RACING TEAM
- DNF Tom Devriendt, WANTY – GROUPE GOBERT
- DNF Ludovic Robeet, WB AQUA PROTECT VERANCLASSIC
- DNF Borut Bozic, BAHRAIN – MERIDA
- DNF Antoine Warnier, WB AQUA PROTECT VERANCLASSIC
- DNF Michael Hepburn, MITCHELTON – SCOTT
- DNF Svein Tuft, MITCHELTON – SCOTT
- DNF Justin Mottier, VITAL CONCEPT CYCLING CLUB
- DNF Jeroen Meijers, ROOMPOT – NEDERLANDSE LOTERIJ
- DNF Angelo Tulik, DIRECT ENERGIE
- DNF Jonathan Hivert, DIRECT ENERGIE
- DNF Kamil Gradek, CCC SPRANDI POLKOWICE
- DNF Imerio Cima, NIPPO – VINI FANTINI – EUROPA OVINI
- DNF Calvin Watson, AQUA BLUE SPORT
- DNF Eduard Michael Grosu, NIPPO – VINI FANTINI – EUROPA OVINI
- DNF Jerome Cousin, DIRECT ENERGIE
- DNF Juan Jose Lobato Del Valle, NIPPO – VINI FANTINI – EUROPA OVINI
- DNF Robbert De Greef, ROOMPOT – NEDERLANDSE LOTERIJ
- DNF Andrea Peron, TEAM NOVO NORDISK
- DNF Robert Thomas Wagner, TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO
- DNF Fabio Jakobsen, QUICK – STEP FLOORS
- DNF Aime De Gendt, SPORT VLAANDEREN – BALOISE
- DNF Pascal Eenkhoorn, TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO
- DNF Floris De Tier, TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO
- DNF Edward Planckaert, SPORT VLAANDEREN – BALOISE
- DNF Franck Bonnamour, TEAM FORTUNEO – SAMSIC
- DNF Kevin Ledanois, TEAM FORTUNEO – SAMSIC
- DNF Stéphane Rossetto, COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS
- DNF Dennis Van Winden, ISRAEL CYCLING ACADEMY
- DNF Florian Vachon, TEAM FORTUNEO – SAMSIC
- DNF Roy Goldstein, ISRAEL CYCLING ACADEMY
- DNF Mark Christian, AQUA BLUE SPORT
- DNS Ramunas Navardauskas, BAHRAIN – MERIDA
Read the full article at Brabantse Pijl: Wellens dedicates win to fallen countryman on VeloNews.com.