XDS Astana's Max Kanter powers to sprint win at Gooikse Pijl

Despite a large number of attacks throughout the race, the race ultimately came down to a mass sprint. Max Kanter opened his sprint 200 meters from the finish and managed to take the victory.

For XDS Astana Team, this is already the 28th victory of the current season, while for Kanter it is his second success after winning Stage 2 of Paris-Nice.

“This week in Belgium was quite difficult. I was coming back after a long break, and I didn’t feel too good in Wednesday’s first race, so I had to stop after half the distance. Yesterday was much better, and honestly, I regained confidence in my abilities. The race was difficult; we didn’t manage to make it into the decisive breakaway, but I felt better and better in the group, and I had a certain amount of confidence in the sprint, so I was looking forward to today’s race. Of course, we expected today’s race to end in a sprint, but it turned out to be a very difficult day. There were many attacks that we had to cover. In the second half of the race, both Mike Teunissen and I had to follow attacks and make moves into breakaways, while keeping the potential sprint in mind. In the finale, Mike brought me to the one-kilometer mark, and then I started riding my own race and looking for a position. Later, Nikiforos (Arvanitou) came through on the left and brought me to the front with 250 meters to go, after which I started my sprint and finished it with the victory. I’m happy that we managed to finish this week with a success for our entire team. Ahead of me is the final part of the season in China – the one-day race in Hong Kong and the Tour of Guangxi,” said Max Kanter.

Earlier, XDS Astana Team rider Nicola Conci, racing alongside the young riders of XDS Astana Development Team at Il Giro d'Abruzzo, claimed third place on the final stage of the Italian stage race.