Thousand Yard Stare: Eeckhout felt every one of those 203.7kms in Belgium & Holland
The An Post-Sean Kelly team has continued its very strong 2012 campaign with victory by former national Belgian champion Niko Eeckhout in the Schaal Sels (UCI 1.1) on Sunday.
Run off in very wet conditions for much of the race, the riders were pelted with rain as they negotiated the 203.7km course that snaked over the border between Belgium and Holland, took in 14 cobble sections in the first 100kms and a difficult breezy middle section in Holland before finishing on a circuit in Antwerp.
Eeckhout, at 41-years-old, is still very well known for his hard man approach and finishing kick but he did not leave the finish to a sprint on Sunday. Instead he went on the attack in the closing stages and managed to distance his breakaway companions before coming home alone some 12 seconds ahead of a depleted peloton.
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The veteran was involved in a breakaway of ten riders in the opening section of the race, with the field splitting due to the wind and rain, not to mention a number of pile ups. The An Posts were well represented in that early move with Mark McNally, Roy Jans and Kenneth Van Bilsen all making the cut with Eeckhout.
Briton McNally lost his place in the breakaway when he punctured. The head of the race was to regroup, but Eeckhout took flight on the closing circuit and put in an incredible ride to hold off the chasers after more than 4hrs 30mins in the saddle.
A number of teams including TopSport, SpiderTech and Netapp combined in the chase group to try and bring him back as the race neared the finish but were unable to catch him.
The performance will undoubtedly put pressure on Eeckhout to extend his career further, with the veteran having considered retirement at the end of the last couple of seasons.
An Post-Sean Kelly manager Kurt Bogaerts said he was delighted with the victory but was especially pleased with the manner of the win and also the entire team’s performance.
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“It was a great result for us. Not only was it a superb performance by Niko to claim the victory but it was a tremendous team performance and that’s what pleases me the most. Niko has shown time and time again his class. He is an example to all the younger riders in terms of his professionalism, his attitude and his dedication to the sport so I’m delighted for him”.
“The team are in good shape at the moment. The fitness levels are looking good and the mentality of the riders is very strong so it bodes well for the next few weeks with the Tour of Britain and the World Championships around the corner.”
The Irish-Belgian team’s next race is the GP Jef Scherens (1.1) in Belgium on September 2nd.
An Post-Sean Kelly’s Eeckhout just after winning the Schaal Sels (UCI 1.1) on Sunday
The winner powers on towards the finish with an organised chase behind not enough to reel him in
Result: Schaal Sels (UCI 1.1)
1 Niko Eeckhout (Bel) An Post - Sean Kelly 4:37:12
2 Christian Bertilsson (Swe) Team Cykelcity.Se 0:00:12
3 Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) Accent Jobs - Willems Veranda's
4 Blaz Jarc (Slo) Team Netapp
5 Ryan Anderson (Can) Spidertech Powered By C10
6 Roman Maykin (Rus) Rusvelo
7 Zico Waeytens (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator
8 André Schulze (Ger) Team Netapp
9 Joeri Stallaert (Bel) Landbouwkrediet
10 Kevin Suarez Martinez (Bel) Colba - Superano Ham
11 Kenneth Van Bilsen (Bel) An Post - Sean Kelly
12 Kevin Peeters (Bel) Landbouwkrediet
13 Timothy Dupont (Bel) Bofrost-Steria El.Czc
14 Robin Stenuit (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles - Credit Agricole
15 Sjef De Wilde (Bel) Accent Jobs - Willems Veranda's
16 James Vanlandschoot (Bel) Accent Jobs - Willems Veranda's
17 Jarl Salomein (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator
18 Steve Schets (Bel) Bofrost-Steria El.Czc
19 Niels Wytinck (Bel) An Post - Sean Kelly
20 Gijs Van Hoecke (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator
21 Luc Hagenaars (Ned) Metec Continental Cyclingteam
22 Egidijus Juodvalkis (Ltu) Landbouwkrediet
23 Kevin Verwaest (Bel) Bofrost-Steria El.Czc
24 Henrik Abom (Swe) Team Cykelcity.Se
25 Bert Vanlerberghe (Bel) Bofrost-Steria
26 Gorik Gardeyn (Bel) Champion System Pro Cycling Team
27 Jason Christie (NZl) Team Differdange - Magic-Sportfood.De
28 Sven Jodts (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator
29 Benjamin Verraes (Bel) Accent Jobs - Willems Veranda's
30 Steven Van Vooren (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator
31 Martin Gilbert (Can) Spidertech Powered By C10
32 Olivier Chevalier (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles - Credit Agricole
33 Olivier Pardini (Bel) Colba - Superano Ham
34 Johan Coenen (Bel) Team Differdange - Magic-Sportfood.De
35 Mark Mcnally (GBr) An Post - Sean Kelly
36 Tom Goovaerts (Bel) Colba - Superano Ham
37 Jan Barta (Cze) Team Netapp
38 Daniel Schorn (Aut) Team Netapp
39 Antoine Duchesne (Can) Spidertech Powered By C10
40 Kevin Claeys (Bel) Landbouwkrediet
41 Quentin Bertholet (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles - Credit Agricole
42 Markus Eichler (Ger) Team Netapp
43 Simon Lambert-Lemay (Can) Spidertech Powered By C10 0:01:16
44 Kevin De Jonghe (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator 0:01:42
45 Dries Hollanders (Bel) Metec Continental Cyclingteam 0:01:47
46 Justin Van Hoecke (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles - Credit Agricole
47 Francois Parisien (Can) Spidertech Powered By C10 0:02:04
DNF Sam Bennett (Irl) An Post - Sean Kelly
DNF Roy Jans (Bel) An Post - Sean Kelly
DNF Scott Law (Aus) An Post - Sean Kelly
DNF Joren Segers (Bel) An Post - Sean Kelly
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