RusVelo rider Roman Maikin finished second in stage 4 of Baloise Belgium Tour, just behind one of the World’s best sprinters Andre Greipel (Lotto-Belisol). The legendary Belgian one-day specialist Philippe Gilbert was third across the line.

 

The 184 km-long stage was set on the hills around Lac de l'Eau d'Heure. There were two breakaways during the race, easily controlled by the peloton; after all, everything came down to a bunch sprint. There was a lot of contact action in the final kilometers, and Sergey Lagutin, a lead-out man for Roman Maikin this time, hit his opponent and was sent out of the race by the jury. 

 

RusVelo DS Sergey Ivanov had this to say:

 

 “Our riders have had very good legs for quite a while, but they had some confidence and experience issues. They did a lot of racing in Belgium this year and it was like a university for them, now it’s time to start graduating from it. So for me it’s no surprise that Roman Maikin is capable of taking on even stars of this caliber.

"Bunch sprint is a scary business, you have to fight for your position and  catch your chance; Roman has enough determination for this now. This type of finish suits his characteristics, uphill after a downhill section. The team was great today, everyone did his part of the job for their sprinter, and Sergey Lagutin gave a superb lead-out actually – it’s a great shame he broke the rules on the spur of the moment.  

 

"Sure enough, Anre Greipel is still a bit too strong for Roman Maikin, especially when the German is ultra-motivated like today because of those two sprints taken by his derby rival Tom Boonen in the first two stages. Everything is in good order though”.