Wynants third in Omloop Mandel-Leie-Schelde
After fourteen local laps, Maarten Wynants conquered the third place in the Omloop Mandel-Leie-Schelde in Meulebeke. The 35-year-old Belgian from Team LottoNL-Jumbo was part of a major breakaway. Only Iljo Keisse and Huub Duin were faster. Wynants' teammate Twan Castelijns also finished within the top ten, he became seventh.
The 179.2 kilometre long course saw a lot of escapees. Castelijns and Wynants weren't the only LottoNL-Jumbo riders involved in breakaways, Amund Grondahl Jansen and Gijs Van Hoecke were also represented in a breakaway.
Wynants found it a chaotic day. "There were breakaways all the time. Every time a team was not represented in an escape group, the escapees were caught. Ultimately, Twan and I were in the last escape. There was also a lot of breaking away when everyone looked at us to race. That happened just before the finish, making it a sprint for the win. I was riding closely behind Keisse, but had to come from too far away. In the end, the third place was the best possible."