03 februari 2010
- 07 februari 2010
Etoile de Bessèges 2010
Koen lined up from the 3rd to the 7th of February in the
l'Etoile de Besseges which could be translated as the Star of
Besseges.
The first stage took the peloton from Aigues Mortes to La Grau
du Roi over 146 km and the stage finished in a mass sprint that was
won by 29 year old Slovakian Borut Bozic of the Vacansoleil team.
Koen brought teammate Tom Veelers forward during the final
kilometres. Veelers came 7th. Teammate Floris Goesinnen spent most
of the day at the front of the race with Frenchman Julien Loubert
for company. They had had a maximum advantage of 9 minutes. Koen
finished the stage in 43rd place.
The 134km second stage from N�mes to Saint Ambroix ended again
in a sprint that was won by Bozic. The slovakian bet Frenchman
Arnoud Molmy (Roubaix Lille Metropole), Belgian Nico Eeckhout (An
Post-Sean Kelly) and Canadian Dominique Rollin (Cervelo Test Team)
in the sprint. Once again the Skil-Shimano team rode for Veelers
but unfortunately Koen lost Veelers in the final kilometre. Veelers
finished in 10th place with Koen in 16th place.
The third stage finished again with a mass sprint but this time
it wasn't Bozic who took home the flowers but Frenchman Samuel
Dumoulin (Cofidis). Tom Veelers sprinted to a great 3rd place. In
the final of four laps, the Skil-Shimano formation moved to the
front of the race to set Veelers up. Koen's work was done with 500
metres to go when Roy Curvers took over with Veelers in his wheel.
Veelers began the sprint and only Dumoulin and Bozic overtook him.
Koen finished in 23rd place. Koen had even been present in several
breakaway attempts but in the end the peloton never gave them any
room.
In the 4th stage, Koen attacked but he had to give in when het
ook on a climb singlehandedly. He blew up as they say in cycling
terms and eventually crossed the line in 123rd place, around 20
minutes after the day's stage winner Frenchman Arnoud Molmy.
The final stage finished as expected in a mass sprint on
February 7th. The Skil-Shimano team once again set things up for
Tom Veelers who took 4th place behind the day's winner Belgian Nico
Eeckhout. Koen finished in the peloton after a hard days work in
87th place. Frenchman Samuel Dumoulin won the overall after stage
four's leader Arnoud Molmy did not take to the start of the race
due to sickness. Koen finished the race in 75th place.