A powerful sprint  finish by Edvald Boasson Hagen in the Ghent-Wevelgem race on Wednesday has clinched Columbia-Highroad its second top Classic of the season.

On a tough day marked by heavy rain and driving winds, Boasson Hagen and Belarus rider Aleksandr Kuschynski first made it into a 30-strong break, then took off in the final 50 kilometres. After the two opened up a gap of around a minute, second-year pro Boasson Hagen finally outsprinted Kuschynski for his first victory of 2009.

“When I was in the [first] breakaway I was actually working for [team-mates Marcus] Burghardt and [George] Hincapie but I felt good myself and thought I could go for it.” Boasson Hagen said. “I felt strong on the climb [of the Kemmelburg] so I attacked there and then got across to Kuschynski.”

“It wasn’t a team order, it was something I wanted to try to see if it would work out. The gap between us and the other guys dropped to 50 seconds at one point, and I got a bit nervous. But we were close to the finish so we finally had enough time.”

“I gave it 100 percent in the final sprint. I was a bit worried because it had been a long day, but I’m normally quite good in small group sprints, and this one went fine. I think it’s definitely one of the biggest wins of my career, but I can’t celebrate it too much. I’ve got a big race on Sunday - Paris-Roubaix - where I’ll be helping Marcus and George to do what they can.”

“Tactically we had a very good day today,” said team manager Bob Stapleton. ”I think maybe Edvald’s rival underestimated him slightly in the final sprint. It was a nice reminder that we’re full of top young talent - Edvald, Tony Martin, Frankie Rabon and obviously Mark [Cavendish]. And later in the year you’ll see others like Kanstantin] Svitsov. These guys are the future of the sport. It’s just good to see them growing so quickly.”

“Mark showed some real quality today, too, he finished 11 minutes down and the first thing he did was look for and congratulate Edvald. That was class.”