A few weeks after his stage win in the Tour de Wallonie, Dimitri Clayes (Wanty) continued his dream season by claiming an impressive solo win in the hilly Belgian semi-classic GP Jef Scherens. With a powerful attack on the final climb, he dropped Pim Ligthart (Lotto Soudal) and then kept both the Dutchman and the peloton at bay in the flat run-in to the finish. Roman Maikin (Gazprom-Rusvelo) won the sprint for third.

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Dimitri Claeys eyes classics success after big victory in Leuven

Dimitri Claeys won this Sunday the 50th edition of the Grand Prix Jef Scherens. After 185.7 kilometres in the streets of Leuven he crossed the line as first. It is his second victory of the season, the tenth for the team Wanty-Groupe Gobert.

"It's my best performance of the year. After my second place last year I proved once again that this race suits me", Dimitri Claeys said.

The team Wanty-Groupe Gobert lined up this Sunday with Dimitri Claeys, Mark McNally, Kenny Dehaes, Kevin Van Melsen, Jérôme Baugnies, Frederik Backaert, Marco Marcato and Frederik Veuchelen.

With three laps to go Frederik Veuchelen attacked but his move didn't work out. Five kilometres further Claeys and Ligthart made their move as they made a strong attack. The peloton didn’t get any closer to the front duo which was cooperating excellently. The two leaders started the final lap with a bonus of 50 seconds on the peloton.

On the last climb of the day – the Wijnpers Dimitri Claeys accelerated hard and Pim Ligthart could not follow the pace.

"We had quickly a nice gap. I still felt good at the bottom of the last climb. I went full gas because I knew Pim Lightart is very fast in the sprint. I made the right choice”, he explained.

With two kilometres to go Pim Lightart got close but the stage winner in the Tour de Wallonie accelerated again and soloed to the victory.

"I had absolutely no idea of the time difference because my radio was not working anymore. I hesitated a little bit but I could enjoy the last few meters.”

After the victory of Bjorn Leukemans 2015 the team Wanty-Groupe Gobert defends its title in the GP Jef Scherens.

"I was not sure of my form because the Tour of Limousin was very difficult. I recovered well. Next year I’ll ride for Cofidis but I want to conclude in beauty the season with Wanty-Groupe Gobert”, Dimitri Claeys concluded.

"I just finished a difficult Tour du Limousin,” he told Het Nieuwsblad. “That's why I was not afraid today to be super, but it turned out to be best to attack. I had no communication in the final. That's why I knew nothing of the lead we had. I once again attacked strongly on the last climb. It was immediately the right move because I could leave Ligthart behind

"I know the course so well. You cannot compare the last two year’s races. Today's race was locked for a long time locked and it was raining too. Moreover, last year I rode for another team. Perhaps this is my most beautiful win of the season. The stage win in the Tour of Wallonia was not bad either. The main goal for me is the classics. I crashed in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and my Tour of Flanders was not bad, but I'm aiming higher. Next year for sure I will ride for Cofidis and I will also be able to do a grand tour. Finally. I hope this will make me a little stronger. But now I ride forWanty-Groupe Gobert and I want to show myself until the end of the season.”

Pim Ligthart: It’s a shame that I had to let Claeys go

The ultimate escape was the one of Dimitri Claeys and Pim Ligthart with two laps to go. On the last hill it was clear that it was hard for Ligthart to follow Claeys and on the Wijnpers, Ligthart was dropped. The end was still exciting though because in the last few kilometres Pim Ligthart came back pretty close to the leader of the race. However, Dimitri Claeys won solo and shortly after also Pim Ligthart crossed the finish line.

”When Dimitri Claeys and I got away from the peloton, I knew we could do a good job,” he saod. “I know that he is a very strong rider and I knew that if we would ride together, we could come very far.  Me being in the breakaway was good for the team and for me. I knew that we still had some strong guys in the back and they could save their power because I was in the front of the race. However, in the last lap it was getting hard for me and I’m sure Dimitri Claeys noticed that as well. On the Lüdenscheidsingel I could barely follow him and then he went even faster on the Wijnpers. He didn’t really attack but rather accelerated.

Pim Ligthart believed in his chances to win:

“When Claeys and I got away together, I really believed that I could win. Even when I was dropped on the hill, I hoped that I could still get back with him. I still had some power in my legs, but on the last hilly road I lost time again. I wish that we could have gone to the finish together, but after all, I did achieve a very nice second place.”

"Claeys was very strong again today, because in Dwars door het Hageland he impressed on several occasions. I still tried to keep up with Claeys in the final kilometers but I could not. I'm happy with second place. We had a strong team with Tim Wellens, Sean De Bie, Kris Boeckmans and myself . Because of the rain I wanted to be part of a break. You can ride easier than in a large group. I am sorry that I had to let Claeys go on that climb.”

Strong Roompot performance unrewarded at GP Jef Scherens

A strong team performance by Roompot - Orange Peloton did not produce the desired result. The eight riders from the team of Jean-Paul van Poppel were involved in many of the key moments of the rider around Leuven, but could not make the podium.

Early in the 185-kilometer race, 13 laps over 12 kilometers containing four climbs, Berden de Vries was able to be in a leading group of six riders. 

"We were actually a bit too few to really have a chance," he said afterwards. "It was all good, but to be there deep into the final with such an escape you just need another rider or fifteen. I felt strong and was happy to be there in the final kilometers," said De Vries almost 150 kilometers in the break.

Wesley Kreder joined the counterattack. Together with the Belgian De Bondt he went in pursuit of another Flemish-Dutch duo; Claeys and Ligthart. 

"We failed to catch them,” Kreder kreder. "I finished the Tour du Limousin and wanted to try it again in the finale.”

Jesper Asselman (13th) and Huub Duijn (17th) were best from the team.  Tim Kerkhof and Brian Van Goethem also finished in the first group.

Novo Nordisk in the mix at GP Jef Scherens

On Sunday, Team Novo Nordisk tackled the 50th edition of GP Jef Scherens, an 185.7-kilometer circuit race around Leuven.

Team Novo Nordisk’s Charles Planet and David Lozano came in with the main chase group, only eight seconds behind Claeys.

“Today had it all in a way that even surprised me,” Team Novo Nordisk’s David Lozano said. “There were super heavy rains, heat and even the course proved challenging. All day long, it went from wide roads down to one lane. This meant position was essential throughout the race. Charles and I fought together to get into the main chase and we did the best we could from there.”

Team Novo Nordisk resumes racing on Tuesday with the 190-km GP Stad Zottegem.

Stölting youngsters test themselves at GP Jef Scherens

With the break caught on the fourth-to-last lap, only 40-50 riders were left in the peloton, including Sven Reutter and Thomas Koep from Stölting. Koep and Reutter finished in the peloton, placing 34th and 40th.

After the race, Sports Director André Steensen said:

“There was a lot of rain, and it was a hard parcours. Riders were dropped from the peloton continuously, and in the final Thomas and Sven are still in the first peloton. They rode well, and I’m absolutely satisfied with their performance. I had hoped for them to be able to respond to attacks in the final, it was a great race by Claeys and Ligthart. In the sprint Sven and Thomas couldn’t get a good position, but it’s no mean feat to be in a race like this until the very end. I hope that they can do well in the other races in Belgium next week.”