BMC Racing Team's Greg Van Avermaet won his second stage in three days at the Tour de Wallonie Wednesday – as teammate Daniel Oss finished second – and time gained in Van Avermaet's solo victory earned him the overall crown for the second time in three years.

Van Avermaet overcame a 22-second deficit heading into the final stage by attacking at the base of the finishing climb and earning a 10-second time bonus for the stage win while finishing far enough ahead of past race leader Alexandr Kolobnev (Katusha Team), who struggled with a technical problem, and Anthony Geslin (FDJ.fr), who was in second place but was dropped on the climb.

"I was just trying to win the stage," Van Avermaet said. "From zero to three victories, this is really great for me. I'm very happy with my Tour de Wallonie. It is a parcours that suits me and it's good for my confidence for San Sebastian (on Saturday)." Before his win on Monday, Van Avermaet's last victory had come at Paris-Tours in October of 2011. In the final overall standings, Geslin finished second, 10 seconds back, while Kolobnev slid to third, at 12 seconds, and Oss was fourth, at 20 seconds.

Ballan Released from Hospital
BMC Racing Team Assistant Director Jackson Stewart said the formula that helped Van Avermaet win Stage 3 on Monday worked equally as well at the end of the 144.7-kilometer stage after a breakaway was brought back with 17km to go. "It was impressive," Stewart said. "It was the same thing we've been doing all week. Everyone did everything perfectly. Taylor Phinney came to the front and put Greg right there at the bottom. When Phinney pulled off, Greg just lit it up on the cobblestones and stayed on the gas the whole way up."

After the race, the BMC Racing Team received more good news when Alessandro Ballan was released from the hospital where he had been under observation since Sunday night after complaining of stomach pain. The former world road champion competed in Stages 1 and 2 before withdrawing from the race.