Canadians 10th, 20th at Dwars door Vlaanderen

Dominique Rollin of Francaise des Jeux continued his string of solid results with a 10th place in Dwars door Vlaanderen Wednesday as Svein Tuft salvaged 20th place for SpiderTech p/b C10.

The first cobbled Belgian semi-classic of the season was a typically chaotic affair as the peloton splintered in the final 60 km.

SpiderTech went into the race with two men in good form: Svein Tuft and Keven Lacombe. But a series of ill-timed punctures — including one for Lacombe at the worst possible time, on the cobbled Eikenburg climb — left just Tuft in the 40-rider peloton going into the finish.

Rollin, coming off a strong 16th place in Milan-San Remo, stayed well positioned throughout the finale and was one of just two FDJ riders to make the front split. Teammate Yoann Offredo tried in vain to jump away before leading Rollin out for the sprint.

At the finish, Belgian Nik Nuyens of Saxo Bank and Sky Cycling’s Geraint Thomas of Britain just held off  the peloton, finishing in that order just metres ahead of  Tyler Farrar, who won the bunch sprint.

Canadian Michael Barry of Sky Cycling finished in 82nd after working to help set Thomas up for the finale.

“I am really happy with the teamwork today which has improved each race,” said Tuft after the race. “I knew that positioning before the cobblestone sections of this race was key and each time we do a race here, I am becoming more comfortable with that. It was bad luck for Keven as we were hoping to have two men in the final first group, improving our chances.”