Devenyns Takes 8th in Chase Group

Devenyns Takes 8th in Chase Group

Devenyns was part of an eight man chase group, that eventually produced race winner Tommy Voeckler (Europcar) at 194.9km De Brabantse Pijl on Wednesday.

The peloton had been splitting into small groups for the final 80km, and Devenyns was part of an initial chase 5-6 man group with a little less than 45km to go. The field was chasing a trio of Daniel Schorn (NetApp), Maxim Belkov (Katusha) and Artem Ovechkin (RusVelo), who had a maximum gap of five minutes during the race. The three rider break eventually dwindled to just Schorn, and as Schorn dangled off the front, the Devenyns group was reeled in. However, with 32km to go, Voeckler attacked, and Devenyns followed with a handful of other riders. The result was the following chase group as Voeckler stayed up the road: Jelle Vanendert (Lotto-Belisol), Devenyns, Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing Team), Oscar Freire (Katusha Team), Laurens Ten Dam (Rabobank), Alex Howes (Garmin-Barracuda), Daniel Schorn (NetApp) and Pieter Serry (Topsport Vlaanderen). Schorn had been caught, stuck with the chase group, and then was dropped on a climb.

Voeckler, however, stayed away until the finish line, while the others battled for second and third on the finishing circuit. Columbian rider Fabio  Duarte of Colombia-Coldeportes bridged to the group as they struggled to catch Voeckler — and also remain away from the chasing riders behind them — on tough climbs. Duarte eventually attacked the group, but they caught him with a little more than 300m to go. Freire took 2nd and Serry 3rd in the sprint. Devenyns tried to attack for higher placing, but fatigued legs from working in the break, and near the front of the peloton, prevented him from competing for the podium.

Gerald Ciolek, Jerome Pineau, and Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale) all crashed on almost the same corner, on three different laps. More information on the condition of Ciolek and Pineau will be available soon, but the injuries do not appear to be too serious at this time.