2016 Tour de l'Eurométropole (2.1), Belgium

Formerly Circuit Franco-Belge

76th edition: Sunday, October 2, 2016

Tour de l'Eurométropole podium history | 2015 edition | 2017 edition | Map

Poperinge - Tournai, 195.6 km

Dylan Groenewegen wins the 2016 Eurométropole

The Race: Here's the report from winner Dylan Groenewegen's LottoNL-Jumbo team:

It has to be noted that second-place Oliver Naesen (IAM Cycling) protested being forced to his left by Groenewegen in the sprint and being forced to jump the block in the picture. In review, the judges awarded the victory to Groenewegen.

Team LottoNL-Jumbo rider Dylan Groenewegen won the Tour de l'Eurométropole. In the streets of Tournai, he outsprinted the Belgians Oliver Naesen (IAM) and Tom Boonen (Etixx) after a hard race. Maarten Wynants of Team LottoNL-Jumbo was also in the leading group and placed ninth.

"This was a very difficult day because of the wind and rain, I'm glad I won this race. When I crossed the line I felt cramps everywhere and I was freezing.” Groenewegen said. “The whole day the peloton went fast, but we were there as a team every time. First with seven men in a group of 50 and when the peloton thinned further, we always had enough riders in it. In the final Maarten Wynants seemed to be racing for the victory, but when we came back I could sprint for the victory.”

After the finish, Oliver Naesen was not happy with Groenewegen's sprint. "The sprint was chaotic as the leading group was caught in the final meters," Groenewegen said. "I first had to go pass the leading group and then pass Debusschere. I certainly went to the left, but I left enough room to pass."

Sports Director Frans Maassen saw a strong team today. "It was racing from kilometre zero. We were prepared and were as a team rode perfectly in the race. In the final, we only had Wynants join the leading group. Because the leaders of Etixx, Gaviria and Boonen, were in it, Maarten Wynants didn't have to go full gas. We had Groenewegen still in the group behind."

Wynants attacked with Lampaert and Naesen. Behind this leading group, the two groups came together and Groenewegen was back in the first chasing group. "Then suddenly we were back in a very good position. Wynants went for the win and was going full gas. For me it was a big surprise that the leaders fell back and Groenewegen could sprint for the win."

Groenewegen departs Tuesday for Qatar. "This was my last test before the Worlds. I had to go pretty deep and that was according to plan. It was nice that it was windy, because that may be the case in Qatar, although I'm glad it's going

Complete Results:

195.6 kilometers raced at an average speed of 46.403 km/hr

1	Dylan Groenewegen	LottoNL-Jumbo	4hr 12min 55sec
2	Oliver Naesen	IAM Cycling	s.t.
3	Tom Boonen	Etixx-Quick Step	s.t.
4	Amaury Capiot	Topsport Vlaanderen	s.t.
5	Florian Sénéchal	Cofidis	s.t.
6	Nils Politt	Katusha	s.t.
7	Joeri Calleeuw	Veranda's Willems	s.t.
8	Jens Debusschere	Lotto-Soudal	s.t.
9	Maarten Wynants	LottoNL-Jumbo	s.t.
10	Jürgen Roelandts	Lotto-Soudal	s.t.
11	Kenneth Vanbilsen	Cofidis	s.t.
12	Nikolas Maes	Etixx-Quick Step	s.t.
13	Julien Vermote	Etixx-Quick Step	@ 4sec
14	Yves Lampaert	Etixx-Quick Step	s.t.
15	Jelle Wallays	Lotto-Soudal	@ 1min 38sec
16	Fernando Gaviria	Etixx-Quick Step	s.t.
17	Anton Vorobyev	Katusha	s.t.
18	Mike Teunissen	LottoNL-Jumbo	+6' 36''
19	Pim Ligthart	Lotto-Soudal	+7' 28''
20	Dimitri Peyskens	Veranclassic Ago	+7' 30''
21	Twan Castelijns	LottoNL-Jumbo	+7' 44''
22	Alexander Porsev	Katusha	+7' 59''
23	Timothy Stevens	Crelan-Vastgoedservice	s.t.
24	Emiel Vermeulen	Team 3M	s.t.
25	Aksel Nõmmela	Leopard Pro	s.t.
26	Danilo Napolitano	Wanty	s.t.
27	Alexander Krieger	Leopard Pro	s.t.
28	Franck Bonnamour	Fortuneo Vital Concept	s.t.
29	Simon Pellaud	IAM Cycling	s.t.
30	David Boucher	Crelan-Vastgoedservice	s.t.
31	Borut Božic	Cofidis	+8' 06''
32	Marc Sarreau	FDJ	+10' 09''
33	Michael Van Staeyen	Cofidis	s.t.
34	Jonas Ahlstrand	Cofidis	s.t.
35	Marcel Aregger	IAM Cycling	s.t.

Course map: