Sam Bennett completed back-to-back stage wins at the BinckBank Tour after edging a bunched sprint on stage two.
Irish champion Bennett, 28, snatched victory in Hulst on the opening day and followed it up with another brilliant effort in a bunched sprint finish.
The Bora-Hansgrohe rider won the 169.1km-stage from Blankenberge to Ardooie ahead of second-placed Belgian Jasper Philipsen (UAE Team Emirates) and Holland’s Dylan Groenewegen (Team Jumbo-Visma), who was third.
“I can’t believe it,” Bennett told the Tour’s official Twitter feed. “After 70 kilometres my legs weren’t that great, so I didn’t expect to really get a result today.
“But the last 10km, the lads looked after me so well all day, kept me at the front, and I think that I was saving so much when others were losing it at the back.
“In the end, I had enough legs to get the win and I’m delighted with that. I really didn’t think I could get a second win here.”
The first half of the race was overshadowed by a bad crash, which forced Jumbo-Visma’s Maarten Wynants and Team Ineos rider Chris Lawless to abandon.
Delighted to take my 10th win of the season here @BinckBankTour after the @BORAhansgrohe guys worked so hard all day to make it a sprint. I was happy to finish off the job!😅 pic.twitter.com/16xJEiekU5
— Sam Bennett (@Sammmy_Be) August 13, 2019
