"The attack helped Lars because he didn't have to ride at the front in the hills."

Those were the words of Astana's Alexey Lutsenko after the World Tour one-day Belgian Classic Ronde van Vlaanderen - the Tour of Flanders.

Teammate Lars Boom finished sixth, 36 seconds behind winner Alexander Kristoff of Norway. Laurens De Vreese finished 17th and Lutsenko finished 22nd, giving Astana Pro Team very strong results and even stronger momentum one week before Paris-Roubaix in France

Lutsenko, De Vreese and Boom were all part of an elite final group in the last 40km when the 2013 U23 World Champion from Kazakhstan made a solo attack on a cobblestone sector before two steep hills. Lutsenko rode solo on the hills to a 30-second advantage over the group and then after they caught him attacked again with two more riders before the final two climbs of the day.

Boom used Lutsenko's help to attack on the Oude Kwaremont in front of tens of thousands of fans. The Dutch rider punctured his front tire with 3k to go and changed bikes quickly before he attacked his chase group to finish sixth.