Fretin sprints to victory on Elisabethwal
Despite multiple attack attempts on the Limburg loop, the Ronde van Limburg was ultimately decided in a sprint, where Milan Fretin (Cofidis) came out on top. On the slightly uphill finish, he held off Simon Dehairs (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Milan Menten (Lotto).
At 1:00 p.m., the riders started in Hasselt for the first spring edition of the Ronde van Limburg. Under a grey blanket of clouds, the peloton headed towards the day’s first challenges.
It took over 25 kilometers before the breakaway was formed. Ridolfo (Team Novo Nordisk), Ťoupalík (Unibet Tietema Rockets), Vervenne (Soudal Quick-Step Devo Team), Rosenlund (Airtox-Carl Ras), Van Vliet (Metec-Solarwatt p/b Mantel), and Dissel (Wagner Bazin WB) built up a lead of more than 3 minutes over the peloton.
For Van Vliet, the first passage over the cobbles of Manshoven proved too much. The attacking spirit in the peloton increased during the second Limburg loop. A lively Tibor Del Grosso (Alpecin-Deceuninck) tried to break away on both Manshoven and Op de Kriezel, but each time the peloton regrouped.
In the final lap, the door was wide open at the back of the peloton. Fretin suffered a mechanical issue but was quickly able to rejoin the bunch after a bike swap with his teammate Stanislaw Aniolkowski. A new acceleration from Del Grosso on Manshoven meant the end of the early breakaway. The Dutchman was joined by his teammate Jonas Rickaert, Biniam Girmay (Intermarché - Wanty), Gianni Marchand (Tarteletto-Isorex), and Guillermo Silva Coussan (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), but the peloton reeled them in again with 6 kilometers to go.
On the wide road heading towards Tongeren-Borgloon, the peloton prepared for a sprint at the newly redesigned finish. On the slightly uphill Elisabethwal, Jasper De Buyst (Lotto) launched the sprint 300 meters from the line for Milan, but Fretin positioned himself into their train. The Belgian rider from Cofidis launched his sprint with 250 meters to go and powered to a dominant victory. Dehairs tried to come alongside Fretin but had to settle for second place. Menten completed a full Belgian podium.
