Laurence Pithie in form wins again in tricky and above all chaotic finale in Dunkirk

The opening stage of the Four Days of Dunkirk was won by Laurence Pithie. In a chaotic finale, the New Zealander from Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe proved strongest in a beautiful uphill sprint, with Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) finishing second and Lewis Askey (NSN) third. Marijn van den Berg sprinted for EF to seventh place.

Since last year, the Four Days of Dunkirk—despite its name—has consisted of five stages instead of six. The organisers noticed that teams were preferring one-day races, giving rise to the Classique Dunkerque, held the day before the Four Days and won on Tuesday by Artem Shmidt (INEOS).

Sprinters had another opportunity in Wednesday’s opening stage, after the American INEOS rider had denied them a chance the day before with a late attack. For a while, a group of five riders escaped, although no big names were among them.

Unibet Rose Rockets, also present in the French 2.Pro race, faced a setback with a crash involving Adam Toupalik, who was forced to abandon shortly after. The breakaway was kept within reach, with sprinter teams controlling the peloton.

Gradually, the peloton closed in, though it was not a day for Sam Welsford: the sprinter from Netcompany INEOS did not finish. The main group reeled in the escapees in time, entering the local final lap together. The finish was on a tricky uphill section.

There were attacks and a crash in the absolute finale, but no one could prevent the uphill sprint. The last 2 kilometres averaged a gradient of around 5%, making it a tough finish. In the final kilometre, another crash occurred, contributing to a very chaotic finale.

Askey launched his sprint from far out. Pithie positioned himself perfectly, taking the inside line in the corner. The New Zealander stayed ahead of everyone, relegating Coquard to second and Askey to third. This marked Pithie’s second victory in a short time, following his earlier win at Rund um Köln. Van den Berg finished seventh.