Niko Eeckhout of the An Post Sean Kelly team claimed a superb victory in today’s high-profile one day Wint Vierde Keer in the city of Aartselaar in Belgium.
The 38-year-old Belgian rider saw off a strong field to claim his fifth victory of the year to the delight of team manager Kurt Bogaerts.
‘This is a huge win,’ Bogaerts said. ‘Niko was amazing today and to win such a high profile race is great. Niko has won this race three times before but his last victory was three years ago, so today was special for him. It was live in Belgium so it was great publicity for the team and sponsors.
‘The team just went for the win from the start and we formed the first break. The group was caught but we had riders involved who went again and Niko was leading. I knew he would win when he made this late break because when Niko goes for the win like this it is very hard to catch him.
‘He had a crash at the weekend but he obviously had no effects from this and he put in a brilliant sprint at the end to win.’
Ireland's Paidi O'Brien made his come back after missing the past few months with a hand injury and performed well, finishing the 183km race in the second group.
An Post Sean Kelly team (Wint Vierde Keer)
Ronan McLaughlin (IRL)
Paidi O’Brien (IRL)
Niko Eeckhout (BEL)
Jef Peeters (BEL)
Kenny Lisabeth (BEL)
Benny De Schrooder (BEL)
Steven Van Vooren (BEL)
Matt Brammeier (UK)
