Wevelgem - World champion Peter Sagan clinched a bunch sprint to win the one-day classic Gent-Wevelgem on Sunday, attacking early when noticing his main rival Elia Viviani was boxed in.
The Bora rider timed his attack to perfection with 200m of the 251km race remaining and only Frenchman Arnaud Demare could go with him with Viviani getting free and launching a desperate but thrilling late attack.
The Italian overtook Demare but it was too late to catch Sagan, who maintained his burst for the line.
"It was a complicated sprint, its always a bit of a lottery," the 28-year-old Sagan told reporters after the race.
"I started early and in the end it was good. I had the legs to hold the lead."
Belgian outfit Quick-Step laid down a marker on Friday in the E3 Harelbeke semi-classic with a dominant team performance that propelled Dutchman Niki Terpstra to a breakaway victory.
But on Sunday their rider, second-placed Viviani, sat down on the floor and cried in frustration after getting boxed in.
FDJ's in-form Demare was on the podium again after his runner-up spot at the Milan-San Remo last week.
It was a record-equalling third win here for Sagan, joining five other men including Eddy Merckx and Mario Cipollini in achieving the feat.
"This was easy," Sagan told a surprised reporter. "Because of the lack of wind, nothing crazy like three years ago. it was a very fast race.
"There wasn't much wind so there was a big group of us, otherwise the group would have been smaller."
Results from the Gent-Wevelgem one-day classic on Sunday:
1. Peter Sagan (SVK/BOR) 251km in 5hrs 53min 35sec, 2. Elia Viviani (ITA/QST) same time, 3. Arnaud Demare (FRA/FDJ) s.t., 4. Christophe Laporte (FRA/COF) s.t., 5. Jens Debusschere (BEL/LOT) s.t., 6. Oliver Naesen (BEL/ALM) s..t, 7. Matteo Trentin (ITA/MIT) s.t., 8. Zdenek Stybar (CZE/QST) s.t., 9. Jasper Stuyven (BEL/TRE) s.t., 10. Wout Van Aert (BEL/VWC) s.t.
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