AG2R's Alexis Gougeard has won the 75th Tour De l'Eurometropole race in Belgium.
The final stage was 155kms long from Mons to Tournai and had AG2R's Alex Gougeard in the lead by three seconds.
Six riders in Julius, Lammertink, Laborie, Van Zummeren, Fournier & Ista. Peloton, formed the break and with a hundred kilometres to go, they had a lead of 2.16.
On the third of seven climbs of the Croix du Jubaru with 68kms left and the gap was down to 1.15 and then down to forty seconds four kilometres later.
An attack by Fournier split the bunch which dropped Julius but with 48.9kms left, the peloton had caught them.
Lotto Soudal and LottoNL-Jumbo had riders on the front for the fourth ascent of the Croix du Jubaru and it was Jurgen Roelandts who just beat the race leader for the three seconds on offer.
Sander Cordell and Gougeard went clear with 36kms left, followed by Hollenstein.
Gougeard took the two seconds on the next climb and was controlling things nicely as the attacks started to come with just over a lap to go.
They took the bell with 14.7kms left and De Winter pushed away before being brought back mainly by Gougeard who was trying to get back to a front group, which he did.
This group were seven seconds clear with four kilometres left but seven hundred metres later, the peloton brought them back.
Niels Politt and De Winter were the next to attack but quickly brought back by Team Roompot and Tinkoff Saxo.
Cofidis led under the flam rouge and in a bunch sprint, they brought up their rider Jonas Ahlstrand to win in 3.22.19 ahead of Enger, Kreder, Roelandts and Devriendt.
Alexis Gougeard of AG2R finished safely and he won the race overall and he said: "Today was a very hard day and difficult to gauge.
"My job was to get the time bonuses. I felt really good and gave 100% to keep the jersey and it was the prologue which proved decisive.
"It is a great win for me. I still feel that I have a lot of great strength and i am incredibly happy to win my first stage race and my team will take great pleasure from this."
Source: DSG
