Handzame Classic 2017 [FULL RACE]

March 17, 2017

Handzame Classic 2017 – Bredene – Kortemark – 197,1 km

Handzame Classic is a European single day cycle race held in the Belgian region of Flanders, with a finish in Handzame. Having been a part of the Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen from 2002 to 2010, race organisers decided to run the race as a single-day race from 2011 and organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour.

Under-23 world champion Kristoffer Halvorsen (Joker Icopal) proved his class once again Friday with a sprint victory at the Handzame Classic ahead of British champion Adam Blythe (Aqua Blue Sport) and Kenny Dehaes (Wanty-Groupe Gobert).

Blythe’s Aqua Blue Sport team controlled the front of the bunch over the final five kilometres in Belgium, but it was Halvorsen who had the advantage as the sprinters jumped out of the final right-hand turn. Blythe poured on the power but was unable to get on terms with the young Norwegian.

“It was very hard,” Halvorsen said of the finale. “There was crosswind, but the team did a really, really good job, and I’m so proud of them.”

The win is just Halvorsen’s second in the pro ranks, but he showed no lack of confidence going up against more experienced sprinters during the bunch kick in Kortemark.

“You know all of them have just two legs, so … yeah,” he said. “We are just a Continental team on paper, but they are so strong.”

Blythe, who was also second in the sprint at the end of Wednesday’s Nokere Koerse, was obviously disappointed in not bringing home the win for his team.

“It was good, but I should have won,” he said. “I just messed the sprint up a little bit. I was a bit too far back. I was just coming at him with speed. I think another 10 metres I’d have had him, but that’s racing.”

How it unfolded

Six riders animated the race in the early going, with Iljo Keisse (Quick-Step Floors), Jonas Koch (CCC Sprandi Polkowice), Lukas Pöstlberger (Bora-Hansgrohe), Mads Würtz Schmidt (Katusha-Alpecin), Alex Kirsch (WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect) and Timothy Stevens (Pauwels sauzen-Vastgoedservice) escaping the bunch and setting off for a day out front.

The peloton was obviously anxious for a sprint at the finish of the 192.7km mostly flat race that started in Bredene and finished in Kortemark, and the bunch caught the leaders with 36km to go.

With the breakaway in check, attacks started to fly from the peloton. Dries De Bondt (Vérandas Willems-Crelan) was the first to try, leading the race through the eventual finish line with two laps left of the finishing circuit, but he was never allowed much of an advantage, with a hungry peloton sweeping him up before long.

Consistent attacking over the final 20 kilometres drove up the pace, with small groups peeling away but not managing to make anything stick.

The bunch took the bell for the final lap together, with Joker Icopal setting the pace. Bora-Hansgrohe took up duty on the front from Joker, hoping to set up Erik Baška to defend his 2016 win.

Aqua Blue Sport was the next team to drive up the pace over the final kilometres, setting up the big bunch sprint, but it was Joker’s Halvorsen that emerged victorious at the line.

Results :
1 Kristoffer Halvorsen (Nor) Team Joker Icopal 4:15:31
2 Adam Blythe (GBr) Aqua Blue Sport
3 Kenny Dehaes (Bel) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
4 Baptiste Planckaert (Bel) Katusha-Alpecin
5 Coen Vermeltfoort (Ned) Roompot – Nederlandse Loterij
6 Andre Looij (Ned) Roompot – Nederlandse Loterij
7 Roy Jans (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect
8 Timothy Dupont (Bel) Veranda’s Willems Crelan
9 Jelle Mannaerts (Bel) Tarteletto – Isorex
10 Davide Martinelli (Ita) Quick-Step Floors
11 Alan Banaszek (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
12 Erik Baska (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe
13 Riccardo Stacchiotti (Ita) Nippo – Vini Fantini
14 Louis Verhelst (Bel) Bauwels sauzen – Vastgoedservice
15 Aidis Kruopis (Ltu) Veranda’s Willems Crelan
16 Moreno Hofland (Ned) Lotto Soudal
17 Zakkari Dempster (Aus) Israel Cycling Academy
18 Raymond Kreder (Ned) Roompot – Nederlandse Loterij
19 Leon Rohde (Ger) Development Team Sunweb
20 Rob Leemans (Bel) Pauwels sauzen – Vastgoedservice
21 Maxime Farazijn (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen – Baloise
22 Stijn Steels (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen – Baloise
23 Elmar Reinders (Ned) Roompot – Nederlandse Loterij
24 Barry Markus (Ned) Pauwels sauzen – Vastgoedservice
25 Robin Stenuit (Bel) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
26 Igor Boev (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
27 Mathias De Witte (Bel) Cibel – Cebon
28 Przemysław Kasperkiewicz (Pol) An Post Chain Reaction
29 Dieter Bouvry (Bel) Pauwels sauzen – Vastgoedservice
30 August Jensen (Nor) Team Coop
31 Frantisek Sisr (Cze) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
32 Viacheslav Kuznetsov (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin
33 Adrian Kurek (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
34 Michiel Dieleman (Bel) Cibel – Cebon
35 Nils Politt (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin
36 Patryk Stosz (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
37 Jonas Koch (Ger) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
38 Pascal Ackermann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
39 Rémi Cavagna (Fra) Quick-Step Floors
40 Maxime Vantomme (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect
41 Vegard Breen (Nor) Team Joker Icopal
42 Berden De Vries (Ned) Roompot – Nederlandse Loterij
43 Kevyn Ista (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect
44 Gianni Marchand (Bel) Cibel – Cebon
45 Dries De Bondt (Bel) Veranda’s Willems Crelan
46 Jakub Kaczmarek (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
47 Stijn Devolder (Bel) Veranda’s Willems Crelan
48 Xandro Meurisse (Bel) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
49 Huub Duijn (Ned) Veranda’s Willems Crelan
50 Mads Würtz Schmidt (Den) Katusha-Alpecin
51 Taco Van Der Hoorn (Ned) Roompot – Nederlandse Loterij
52 Wesley Kreder (Ned) Wanty – Groupe Gobert 0:00:10
53 Yves Lampaert (Bel) Quick-Step Floors
54 Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
55 Jens Wallays (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen – Baloise
56 Jenthe Biermans (Bel) Katusha-Alpecin
57 Arjen Livyns (Bel) Pauwels sauzen – Vastgoedservice
58 Sean De Bie (Bel) Lotto Soudal
59 Remy Mertz (Bel) Lotto Soudal
60 Rüdiger Selig (Ger) Bora – Hansgrohe
61 Tim Declercq (Bel) Quick-Step Floors
62 Dries Devenyns (Bel) Quick-Step Floors
63 Sander Cordeel (Bel) Veranda’s Willems Crelan 0:00:17
64 Piet Allegaert (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen – Baloise
65 Iljo Keisse (Bel) Quick-Step Floors 0:00:20
66 Leigh Howard (Aus) Aqua Blue Sport 0:00:27
67 Aaron Gate (NZl) Aqua Blue Sport
68 Jasper De Buyst (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:00:30
69 Michal Paluta (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice 0:01:01
70 Lasse Norman Hansen (Den) Aqua Blue Sport
71 Dennis Van Winden (Ned) Israel Cycling Academy 0:01:19
72 Brian Van Goethem (Ned) Roompot – Nederlandse Loterij 0:01:32
73 Lawrence Naesen (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect
74 Mihkel Räim (Est) Israel Cycling Academy 0:01:42
75 Kris Boeckmans (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:02:10
76 Conor Dunne (Irl) Aqua Blue Sport
77 Rob Ruijgh (Ned) Tarteletto – Isorex 0:03:21
78 Bjørn Tore Hoem (Nor) Team Joker Icopal
79 Lukas Pöstlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:04:14
80 Andrew Fenn (GBr) Aqua Blue Sport
81 Timothy Stevens (Bel) Pauwels sauzen – Vastgoedservice
82 Maximilian Schachmann (Ger) Quick-Step Floors
83 Martin Velits (Svk) Quick-Step Floors
84 Jacob Scott (Gbr) An Post Chain Reaction
85 Andrea Pasqualon (Ita) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
86 Sean Mackinnon (Can) An Post Chain Reaction 0:04:23
87 Ruben Zepuntke (Ger)Development Team Sunweb 0:04:25
88 Enzo Wouters (Bel) Lotto Soudal
89 Peter Koning (Ned) Aqua Blue Sport
90 Jimmy Duquennoy (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect 0:06:47
91 Alex Kirsch (Lux) WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect
92 Ole Forfang (Nor) Team Joker Icopal
93 Kristoffer Skjerping (Nor) Team Joker Icopal
94 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Soudal
DNF Silvio Herklotz (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
DNF Michael Schwarzmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
DNF José Gonçalves (Por) Katusha-Alpecin
DNF Marco Mathis (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin
DNF Jhonatan Restrepo (Col) Katusha-Alpecin
DNF Frederik Veuchelen (Bel) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
DNF Danilo Napolitano (Ita) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
DNF Gaetan Bille (Bel) Veranda’s Willems Crelan
DNF Christophe Prémont (Bel) Veranda’s Willems Crelan
DNF Ludwig De Winter (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect
DNF Julien Stassen (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect
DNF Tim Ariesen (Ned) Roompot – Nederlandse Loterij
DNF Dmitriy Kozontchuk (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
DNF Sergey Nikolaev (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
DNF Andrei Solomennikov (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
DNF Evgeny Shalunov (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
DNF Kirill Sveshnikov (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo