Van Poppel and Meeus make it a 1-2 for Red Bull in Dunkirk as Pithie seals overall victory

The fifth and final stage of the 4 Days of Dunkirk has been won by Jordi Meeus.

Five days of racing, yet the Four Days of Dunkirk as the name — try to explain the logic. The first four days of the 4 Jours de Dunkerque delivered plenty of drama, but ultimately Laurence Pithie (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) looked to be the strongest. The New Zealander had won the opening stage and defended his overall lead with authority throughout.

But it was not straightforward. Natnael Tesfazion (Movistar) won the queen's stage on Saturday and had closed to just seven seconds in the general classification. Could he make it a genuine contest on the final day? It seemed unlikely, given the flat route. The sprinters saw their chance — and it was a chance they had not yet had.

Read on below the video!

At the start in Saint-Omer, three riders got away: Théo Delacroix (St Michel - Preference Home), Similien Hamon (CIC Pro Cycling Academy) and Louis Chaleil (Decathlon CMA CGM Development). Three Frenchmen, as you would expect on home roads, who were given the freedom by the peloton. With Tudor and EF Education-EasyPost driving at the front of the bunch, however, the gap quickly came down.

An attack from within the peloton was unexpected, but it happened all the same. Daniel Arnes (Van Rysel Roubaix) tried to bridge across to the breakaway, but on these roads it was a hopeless task. He was quickly reeled in, and the three leaders continued to fight it out for a little longer. But their time was clearly running out.

The final escapees held on until the last ten kilometres, when they were caught — with Chaleil the last man standing. What followed was a frantic battle for position in the sprint lead-out. Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe lined up for Jordi Meeus, while Unibet Rose Rockets also had a fine lead-out in place for Tobias Müller.

The final kilometre was twisty, making it difficult to track the sprinters and their lead-out men. Meeus was ultimately delivered to the line in perfect position by Danny van Poppel, who himself crossed the line second behind his team leader. Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe could celebrate a double — the stage win for Meeus and an overall victory for Pithie that was never seriously threatened.