Luca Paolini Wins as Geraint Thomas Finishes Third

Both riders formed part of a six-man lead group going into the final 15km and although 38-year-old Paolini (Katusha) appeared an outsider for victory, he broke clear with an astutely timed attack 6.2km from the finish and won by 11 seconds.
The 239.1km race was played out in dreadful conditions, with heavy rain in the morning being replaced in the afternoon by winds so strong that the peloton was blown to pieces before the halfway mark as riders struggled to keep their bikes upright.
Thomas was among those who crashed as a result of the wind, after a gust with 58km remaining blew him off the road and on to a grass bank, where he was catapulted over his handlebars. Fortunately, he landed relatively softly and was able to resume racing.

Result
1 Luca Paolini (Ita) Katusha, 6:20:55
2 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Etixx – Quick-Step, +11secs
3 Geraint Thomas (GB) Team Sky, same time
4 Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step, +18
5 Jens Debusschere (Bel) Lotto Soudal, +26
6 Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) LottoNL-Jumbo, +40
7 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Lotto Soudal, +1:52
8 Daniel Oss (Ita) BMC Racing, +4:15
9 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha, +5:12
10 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo, st