The Belgian classic GP Jef Scherens, which covers 183 kilometers around Leuven, was decided today in a sprint with a group of nine riders. Steven Caethoven (Accent Jobs) won the race, relegating Stijn Neiruynck (Topsport Vlaanderen) and Frédéric Amorison (Landbouwkrediet) to second and third place to make a completely Belgian podium. Team NetApp's riders crossed the finish line with the peloton.

After an initial group with 16 riders broke away, Team NetApp took over the lead in the peloton to close the gap. By picking up the pace, the group was caught early on. There were several attacks, resulting in the formation of another strong 15-man breakaway group. Unfortunately the first chase exhausted too much energy for Team NetApp to place a rider in this decisive group. The group ultimately split and went into the final stretch with nine riders.

"Unfortunately we missed the first group today. We then decided to chase the group early on and be part of a new group. The first part of the plan worked. The guys set a great pace, they worked incredibly hard, but in the end they were too drained to go along with the second group. It's too bad that the hard work didn't pay off," Jens Heppner said.

Website of the race Jef Scherens

Line-Up GP Jef Scherens: 
Jerome Baugnies, Andreas Dietziker, Markus Eichler, Reto Hollenstein, Bartosz Huzarski, Leo König, Matthias Brändle