ALSEMBERG – At about noon, a group of 180 racers began the big part of the job.

- During the local loops, a group of 20 riders formed in the front. Composed of four racers from the Rabo team (Boogerd, Nys, Verheyen and Engels), accompanied by Bruylandts-Cassani, Van Sevenant-Wuyts, Kuyckx-Sijmens, Chmieliewski-Niedzwiecki, and, alone, Peers, Amorisson, Demarbaix, Aggiano, Moreni, Bertogliati, Derganc and Lunghi.

- Planckaert, Baguet and Tchmil almost succeed in getting ahead but Verheyen, Boogerd, Peers, Van Sevenant, Sijmens, Cassani, Bruylandts, Aggiano and Moreni kept their speed. Vanhaecke, Baguet and De Waele successfully took the lead in the thinning group.

- In the last lap, Moreni, Boogerd, Baguet, and hard workers Bruylandts and Verheyen tried to break up the head group. Aggiano's attack, 4 km from the finish, finally did it. The Italian was joined by his teammate De Waele, Peers and Thijs. The four sprinted up the Alsemberg for the final victory. (PDK)


The newest member of Mapei, Fabien De Waele, let go of his stress, saying :
,,All the worries are over.''

Fabien De Waele, taken in by Mapei-Quick Step to help Tom Steels in the sprint, was able to participate on Sunday for himself in "The Brabant Arrow". The calm Fabien (26) of Oudenaarde thanked them with a sprint and a victory that will be talked about for years to come. He certainly succeeded in losing his bad reputation. "The adaptation is now completely finished." by Paul DE KEYSER Alsemberg

Team manager Eric Vanderaerden wouldn't be himself if he didn't do some crazy things. That's why Mieke, De Waele's girlfriend, was able to eat with the team in all tranquility on Saturday night and even stay and sleep in an extra room. "She can," Vanderaerden joked, in the Alsemberg showers.

The racers gave us a great show on our famous hill. Dictated by Boogerd, Bruylandts, by Serge Baguet and broken hearted Chris Peers, and by impressive tandem Thijs-Vansevenant. But in the end, the decision came down to Elio Aggiano and Fabien De Waele. The Italian put our compatriot in his place thanks to a long solo. Then Fabien thanked his cluster-mates and took off, dominating the sprint.

"Finishing was easy," joked De Waele. During the first months of the season, our compatriot was somewhat off to the side on the Mapei-Quick Step super-team. So calm, so reserved, so impressed by the new world where all of these big names had become all at once his teammates. The management had begun to worry about his integration. He seemed lost at sea, with a only few notions of italian and a few words of french. But everybody understands the language of victory. That was plainly visible by the reaction of his teammates, "Bravo, bravo, Fabien !"

"I had a difficult start," reflects Fabien, with a big smile. His deplacement at the Tour Down Under stayed glued to his chest for a long time. "I was under stress, I put too much pressure on myself. What do you want, a team this big, you have to be at the level. (somber) Things were bad for some time. Fortunately, at Paris-Nice, things started going much better, and that gave me courage. And now, victory at "The Brabant Arrow" ! In front of my own people, on a course that suits me perfectly... all the worries are over.''