Oscar Gatto times sprint to perfection to claim victory at Dwars Door Vlaanderen
Oscar Gatto timed his sprint to perfection to take victory from an elite breakaway at Dwars Door Vlaanderen.
Last Updated: 21/03/13 4:41pm
The Italian (Vini Fantini) held off Borut Bozic (Astana) and Team Sky's Mathew Hayman at the finish in Waregem after 10 riders had powered clear in the closing stages.
The sprint finish swept up a plucky late attack from Thomas Voeckler (Europcar), who was caught only a handful of metres from the line and had to settle for fifth.
The group had joined forces over the final set of "hellingen" climbs and made a buffer of around 30 seconds stick to the chasing pack behind.
Ian Stannard (Team Sky) had tried to split the pack in the latter stages with a pair of attacks, but Hayman, who had been on the attack from early in the race, ensured it was a strong day for the British team.
The "mini Tour of Flanders" became an epic in its own right with tough conditions again hitting the peloton hard and causing a number of crashes and abandonments.
After an early group was reeled in, a strong 14-man break formed on the lead-up to the first climb of the day, the Nieuwe Kwaremont. With the majority of the top teams all represented, the group looked promising, but was only able to open out a gap of around 40 seconds.
The move split apart briefly before Hayman jumped on a move by Geert Steegmans (Omega Pharma - Quick-Step), with the pair powering clear alongside Aleksejs Saramotins (IAM Cycling).
The race changed quickly as Hayman chanced his arm and attacked on the Knokteberg with 40km to go, while the chasing pack also splintered as a concentrated chase group formed.
That all left a lead group of 10 riders, which came together following the Paterberg climb, from which Gatto finished the fastest.
Result
1 Oscar Gatto (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia, 4:43:22
2 Borut Bozic (Slo) Astana, same time
3 Matthew Hayman (Aus) Team Sky, st
4 Mirko Selvaggi (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM, st
5 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Europcar, st
6 Nikolas Maes (Bel) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step, st
7 Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Orica-GreenEDGE, st
8 Maxim Iglinsky (Kaz) Astana, st
9 Ian Stannard (GB) Team Sky, +4secs
10 Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step, +24
19 Geraint Thomas (GB) Team Sky, +1:20
36 Luke Rowe (GB) Team Sky, +2:21
