Binche-Tournai-Binche: "They hesitated, and I won"

I am glad this race exists: it helps us to not forget Frank Vandenbroucke, the pure glory of his career, the dark shadow of his life. I wrote often about him, will not repeat. Somebody should make a movie or a song about the legend of VDB. Yesterday another young talented guy won the race made to keep and transmit his memory: Rüdiger Selig, just a stagiare - but he already showed himself in the Worlds. Let me say LT got his best results by riders you didn't expect - the opposite is also true, Fugslang excluded. And yes, I put Linus Gerdeman amongh them, given that he had done nothing at all in the last 2 years. Nizzolo and Rohregger were the most impressive in my opinion. Then also Monfort and Wagner. Is Selig worth a contract? I guess he is, given that procycling teams must include also two neo pros.

"The 22-year-old German stagiaire, a national champion in the points race on the track, showcased his pure speed in the bunch sprint that saw him overcome eight riders in the final 100 meters." LT press release says. And Selig himself seems a good reporter:

“I’m incredibly happy, obviously, and I’m also surprised,” said Selig. “As a stagiaire and a sprinter, I know I’m in a position where anything can happen. I anticipate the worst and hope for the best. My result today shows that I have continued to improve late in the season with fourth at Worlds and third in Franco-Belge and now the win today.”

Crosswinds were a key factor, first splitting the peloton into two groups and later breaking the bunch into three bordures.
“It was heavy racing today between the wind and the attacks,” Selig noted. “I actually got dropped a few times. Luckily, the peloton slowed down between surges, and I was able to make it up to the group again each time.”

The race concluded with a 16 kilometer circuit in Binche, and as the peloton entered the circuit to begin the first of four laps, a break of ten riders remained off the front with nearly three minutes on the chasing field. Davide Viganò and Maxime Monfort represented LEOPARD TREK in the first chase group of 40 riders.

The chase groups came together behind the ten-rider break inside the local circuit and began to catch the remnants of the break. With one lap left to race, two pairs of riders remained ahead of the bunch. In the final five kilometers, only Ben Hermans (RadioShack) and Bram Tankink (Rabobank) remained off the front.

“Viga looked very strong in the end, and I began to wonder if maybe I should do the work for him,” admitted Selig. “We stuck to the plan we developed this morning. If we were both feeling good, we should work for me. Viganò did exactly that.”

“In the final two kilometers, there is a short cobblestone climb,” continued Selig. “I lost a few positions here. From there, the road curved back onto normal asphalt. I was able to make it back to the top group of sprinters at this point.”

“The last 250 meters were again on cobblestones,” said Selig. “This time we went slightly down on the cobbles instead of up. I allowed a gap to open, and I thought my race was over. The other guys on the front kept going faster and faster. Then, they hesitated for a small moment. I was still on my top speed attempting to regain contact, and I kept going at this same rhythm. I passed them all on the right as they were looking at each other. They hesitated, and I won.”

Baden Cooke (Saxo Bank Sungard) took second and Adrien Petit (Cofidis) rounded out the podium. Viganò came home in fourth place to give LEOPARD TREK two riders in the top five.

“It’s unusual for a stagiaire to have a team support them in a race,” noted Selig. “To have the team work for me, to have a guy like Maxime Monfort who was recently sixth at the Vuelta commit himself to my result, is something special. I’m very grateful for the team and this opportunity. I’m happy to reward their work and trust in me with this win.”