Steegmans ends two year drought with victory in Nokere-Koerse

Rebounding from the illness that caused him to withdraw halfway through Paris-Nice, Quick Step’s Gert Steegmans blasted to victory in the Nokere-Koerse race in Belgium today. He showed good form to net his first race win in two years, beating Stefan Van Dijk (Veranda Willems Accent) and Graeme Brown (Rabobank) to the line.

Steegmans last topped the podium on stage two of the Vuelta a Andalucia on February 17th 2009; since then, he’s had a frustrating time due to a spat with the Katusha team over its controversial anti-doping charter, as well as injury and poor form with the RadioShack team last year.

Now competing again with the Quick Step team, he appears to be back on track. Although he hasn’t been listed as part of the squad for Milan-Sanremo, he’s happy with how things are going with the squad.

“I'm thrilled…the team worked really well,” he stated. “In the last 400 metres everything just clicked; it wasn't a chaotic sprint, but quite orderly, just like I like it, with ideal conditions for me to progressively unload my power on the pedals.

“I feel in great shape and I hope to continue like this for the next steps of the season. I hope this victory can bring good luck to me in the next races and to my team mates who'll be busy on Saturday in Milan-Sanremo.”

A break of four riders went clear early on, with Michael Van Stayen (Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator), Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Quick Step), Matthieu Ladagnous (FDJ) and Kenny De Haes (Omega Pharma Lotto) building a maximum of two minutes 15 seconds over the peloton.

The quartet was reeled in 20 kilometres from the finish, after which De Haes, Rob Goris (Veranda Willems), Gaëtan Bille (Wallonie Bruxelles-Credit) and Rony Martias (Saur Sojasun) pushed ahead. They got much less freedom, establishing a lead of slightly over five minutes before the bunch bore down on them.

A stubborn De Haes was last to be caught, clipping away from his group seven kilometres from the line and then been reeled in by the Katusha-led peloton one kilometres later.

Steegmans was quickest in the ensuing bunch gallop, going early and holding off Van Dijk, Brown and the rest, and finally returning to the top step of the podium. He’ll next be in action on Friday in the Handzame Classic.

Directeur sportif Tom Steels said that he was very happy with how things worked out. “The entire team raced in an exceptional manner, hungry for victory. In the final, even though Robert got a flat and Stauff had some mechanical problems, all the guys tried to work and stay together to set Steegmans up in the best conditions to battle it out in a great final sprint.

“To complete today's success, in addition to Gert's victory we also got the jersey for the mountain classification with Guillaume Van Keirsbulck, who starred in a long breakaway with other riders.”

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2011 Nokere-Koerse,Belgium (UCI 1.1, 196 km):

  Click on the arrowsat the top of the column to sort the race results.

Country	Result	Name	Team	Time
BEL	1	Gert Steegmans	(Quick Step)	04:42:16
NED	2	Stefan Van Dijk	(Verandas Willems-Accent)	s.t.
AUS	3	Graeme Brown	(Rabobank)	s.t.
BEL	4	Jens Keukeleire	(Cofidis)	s.t.
BLR	5	Yauheni Hutarovich	(FDJ)	s.t.
BEL	6	Benjamin Verraes	(Jong Vlaanderen-Bauknecht)	s.t.
FRA	7	Stéphane Poulhiès	(Saur-Sojasun)	s.t.
CAN	8	Keven Lacombe	(SpiderTech powered by C10)	s.t.
NED	9	Bobbie Traksel	(Landbouwkrediet)	s.t.
BEL	10	Frédéric Amorison	(Landbouwkrediet)	s.t.
BEL	11	Maxime Vantomme	(Katusha)	s.t.
BEL	12	Nico Eeckhout	(An Post-Sean Kelly)	s.t.
BEL	13	Kurt Hovelynck	(Donckers Koffie-Jelly Belly)	s.t.
BEL	14	Kevyn Ista	(Cofidis)	s.t.
BEL	15	Bert De Backer	(Skil-Shimano)	s.t.
RUS	16	Alexander Porsev	(Katusha)	s.t.
BEL	17	Gilles Devillers	(Wallonie Bruxelles-Credit Agricole)	s.t.
FRA	18	David Boucher	(Omega Pharma-Lotto)	s.t.
FRA	19	Christophe Laborie	(Saur-Sojasun)	s.t.
BEL	20	Evert Verbist	(Verandas Willems-Accent)	s.t.
NED	21	Coen Vermeltfoort	(Rabobank)	s.t.
FRA	22	Anthony Geslin	(FDJ)	s.t.
POL	23	Michal Golas	(Vacansoleil-DCM)	s.t.
POL	24	Sylwester Janiszewski	(CCC Polsat-Polkowice)	s.t.
BEL	25	Laurens De Vreese	(Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator)	s.t.
IRL	26	Matthew Brammeier	(HTC-Highroad)	s.t.
CAN	27	Dominique Rollin	(FDJ)	s.t.
BEL	28	Davy Commeyne	(Landbouwkrediet)	s.t.
BEL	29	Timothy Dupont	(Jong Vlaanderen-Bauknecht)	s.t.
BEL	30	Jonas Vangenechten	(Wallonie Bruxelles-Credit Agricole)	s.t.
NED	31	Manman Van Ruitenbeek	(Eddy Merckx-Indeland)	s.t.
NED	32	Tom Veelers	(Skil-Shimano)	s.t.
FRA	33	Romain Matheou	(Saur-Sojasun)	s.t.
FRA	34	Steve Chainel	(FDJ)	s.t.
FRA	35	Anthony Delaplace	(Saur-Sojasun)	s.t.
NED	36	Martijn Verschoor	(Team Type 1-sanofi aventis)	s.t.
ITA	37	Marcello Pavarin	(Vacansoleil-DCM)	s.t.
LAT	38	Aleksejs Saramotins	(Cofidis)	s.t.
GER	39	Eric Baumann	(NetApp)	s.t.
CAN	40	Hugo Houle	(SpiderTech powered by C10)	s.t.
NED	41	Robin Chaigneau	(Skil-Shimano)	s.t.
BEL	42	Timothy Vangheel	(Colba-Mercury)	s.t.
BEL	43	Sven Jodts	(Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator)	s.t.
GER	44	Martin Reimer	(Skil-Shimano)	s.t.
NED	45	Pim Ligthart	(Vacansoleil-DCM)	s.t.
NED	46	Remco Broers	(Differdange-Magic-sportfoot.de)	s.t.
BEL	47	Staf Scheirlinckx	(Verandas Willems-Accent)	s.t.
GER	48	Robert Retschke	(NetApp)	s.t.
BEL	49	Bert Scheirlinckx	(Landbouwkrediet)	s.t.
LAT	50	Gatis Smukulis	(HTC-Highroad)	s.t.
USA	51	William Dugan	(Team Type 1-sanofi aventis)	s.t.
GER	52	Andreas Schillinger	(NetApp)	s.t.
RUS	53	Vladimir Isaychev	(Katusha)	s.t.
BEL	54	Iljo Keisse	(Quick Step)	s.t.
FIN	55	Matti Helminen	(Landbouwkrediet)	s.t.
BEL	56	Bert De Waele	(Landbouwkrediet)	s.t.
GER	57	Frank Dressler	(Differdange-Magic-sportfoot.de)	s.t.
BEL	58	Maarten Neyens	(Omega Pharma-Lotto)	s.t.
BEL	59	Julien Vermote	(Quick Step)	s.t.
BEL	60	Leif Hoste	(Katusha)	s.t.
FRA	61	Arnaud Labbe	(Cofidis)	s.t.
GBR	62	Adam Blythe	(Omega Pharma-Lotto)	s.t.
IRL	63	Ronan Mclaughlin	(An Post-Sean Kelly)	s.t.
LTU	64	Gediminas Bagdonas	(An Post-Sean Kelly)	s.t.
BEL	65	Johan Coenen	(Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator)	s.t.
GER	66	Dirk Müller	(Nutrixxion-Sparkasse)	s.t.
BEL	67	Michael Van Staeyen	(Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator)	s.t.
NED	68	Dirk Bellemakers	(Landbouwkrediet)	s.t.
CAN	69	Svein Tuft	(SpiderTech powered by C10)	s.t.
GER	70	Benjamin Sydlik	(Nutrixxion-Sparkasse)	s.t.
RUS	71	Alexey Shmidt	(Team Type 1-sanofi aventis)	s.t.
NED	72	Martijn Keizer	(Vacansoleil-DCM)	s.t.
ITA	73	Alessandro Bazzana	(Team Type 1-sanofi aventis)	s.t.
BEL	74	Rob Goris	(Verandas Willems-Accent)	s.t.
GBR	75	James Spragg	(Donckers Koffie-Jelly Belly)	s.t.
SUI	76	Michaël Bär	(NetApp)	s.t.
RUS	77	Alexander Mironov	(Katusha)	s.t.
BEL	78	Pieter Vanspeybroeck	(Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator)	s.t.
BEL	79	Sander Cordeel	(Colba-Mercury)	s.t.
BEL	80	James Vanlandschoot	(Verandas Willems-Accent)	s.t.
RUS	81	Arkimedes Arguelyes Rodriges	(Katusha)	s.t.
BEL	82	Rudy Rouet	(Wallonie Bruxelles-Credit Agricole)	s.t.
LTU	83	Gediminas Kaupas	(Differdange-Magic-sportfoot.de)	s.t.
BEL	84	Niels Wytinck	(Colba-Mercury)	s.t.
DEN	85	Alex Rasmussen	(HTC-Highroad)	s.t.
GER	86	Patrick Bercz	(Eddy Merckx-Indeland)	s.t.
POL	87	Bartlomiej Matysiak	(CCC Polsat-Polkowice)	s.t.
BEL	88	Olivier Chevalier	(Wallonie Bruxelles-Credit Agricole)	s.t.
BEL	89	Jan Ghyselinck	(HTC-Highroad)	s.t.
NED	90	Tom Vermeer	(Colba-Mercury)	s.t.
GER	91	Steffen Radochla	(Nutrixxion-Sparkasse)	s.t.
BEL	92	Sven Vandousselaere	(Omega Pharma-Lotto)	s.t.
RUS	93	Maxim Belkov	(Vacansoleil-DCM)	s.t.
GER	94	Timon Seubert	(NetApp)	s.t.
USA	95	Caleb Fairly	(HTC-Highroad)	s.t.
BEL	96	Sander Helven	(Donckers Koffie-Jelly Belly)	s.t.
FRA	97	Rony Martias	(Saur-Sojasun)	s.t.
NED	98	Huub Duyn	(Donckers Koffie-Jelly Belly)	s.t.
BEL	99	Preben Van Hecke	(Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator)	s.t.
POL	100	Tomasz Kiendys	(CCC Polsat-Polkowice)	s.t.
BEL	101	Jeroen Hoorne	(Jong Vlaanderen-Bauknecht)	s.t.
AUS	102	Michael Matthews	(Rabobank)	s.t.
BEL	103	Dries Hollanders	(An Post-Sean Kelly)	s.t.
NED	104	Wouter Mol	(Vacansoleil-DCM)	s.t.
AUS	105	Fabio Calabria	(Team Type 1-sanofi aventis)	s.t.
BEL	106	Kristof Vandewalle	(Quick Step)	s.t.
BEL	107	Kevin Hulsmans	(Donckers Koffie-Jelly Belly)	s.t.
FRA	108	Paul Poux	(Saur-Sojasun)	s.t.
BEL	109	Michael Vanderaerden	(Donckers Koffie-Jelly Belly)	s.t.
BEL	110	Jens Debusschere	(Omega Pharma-Lotto)	s.t.
LTU	111	Darijus Dzervus	(An Post-Sean Kelly)	s.t.
FRA	112	Benoît Vaugrenard	(FDJ)	s.t.
ITA	113	Cesare Benedetti	(NetApp)	s.t.
NZL	114	Alex Meenhorst	(Differdange-Magic-sportfoot.de)	s.t.
BEL	115	Romain Zingle	(Cofidis)	s.t.
CAN	116	Ryan Anderson	(SpiderTech powered by C10)	s.t.
NED	117	Stef Clement	(Rabobank)	s.t.
BEL	118	Pieter Ghyllebert	(An Post-Sean Kelly)	s.t.
NED	119	Roy Curvers	(Skil-Shimano)	s.t.
BEL	120	Sander Armee	(Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator)	s.t.
BEL	121	Guillaume Van Keirsbulck	(Quick Step)	s.t.
BEL	122	Dimitri Claeys	(NetApp)	s.t.
FRA	123	William Bonnet	(FDJ)	s.t.
BEL	124	Klaas Lodewyck	(Omega Pharma-Lotto)	s.t.
DEN	125	Michael Tronborg Kristensen	(Differdange-Magic-sportfoot.de)	s.t.
BEL	126	Steven De Neef	(Jong Vlaanderen-Bauknecht)	s.t.
FRA	127	Remy Cusin	(Cofidis)	s.t.
NED	128	Dennis Van Winden	(Rabobank)	s.t.
BEL	129	Nico Sijmens	(Cofidis)	s.t.
AUS	130	Mitchell Docker	(Skil-Shimano)	s.t.
LUX	131	Jempy Drucker	(Verandas Willems-Accent)	00:00:47
GER	132	Andre Greipel	(Omega Pharma-Lotto)	s.t.
NED	133	Bram Schmitz	(Verandas Willems-Accent)	00:01:12
BEL	134	Nikolas Maes	(Quick Step)	s.t.
BEL	135	Gaetan Bille	(Wallonie Bruxelles-Credit Agricole)	s.t.
FRA	136	Frédéric Guesdon	(FDJ)	s.t.
FRA	137	Matthieu Ladagnous	(FDJ)	s.t.
USA	138	Benjamin King	(RadioShack)	s.t.
GER	139	Paul Martens	(Rabobank)	s.t.
BEL	140	Gregory Habeaux	(Verandas Willems-Accent)	s.t.
BEL	141	Walt De Winter	(Jong Vlaanderen-Bauknecht)	s.t.
GER	142	Michael Schweizer	(Nutrixxion-Sparkasse)	s.t.
GER	143	Sebastian Forke	(Nutrixxion-Sparkasse)	s.t.
GER	144	Grischa Janorschke	(Nutrixxion-Sparkasse)	s.t.
BEL	145	Kenny Dehaes	(Omega Pharma-Lotto)	00:01:27
USA	146	Craig Lewis	(HTC-Highroad)	00:01:49
CAN	147	Martin Gilbert	(SpiderTech powered by C10)	s.t.
BEL	148	Steven Van Vooren	(Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator)	s.t.
GBR	149	Andrew Fenn	(An Post-Sean Kelly)	s.t.