Edward Theuns fought patiently and flawlessly in the finale of the Plymouth Classic, winning for the first time in two years with an attack in the last 3km.

The 28-year-old Belgian rider was unsure how his legs would react to Saturday's 197-km race from Brakel to Hacht, having finished ninth in the Campioenschap van Vlaanderen two days earlier, when his team sent him out for the finale in hopes of winning, The Trek-Segafredo rider made it happen.

The win was important for Theuns, who showed steady improvement in his second year on the WorldTour with Trek-Segafredo in 2017, but suffered injuries and disappointments last season with Team Sunweb. He and Team Sunweb ended his contract a year early, and he returned to Trek and repaid the team's faith in him with a win on Saturday.

"I'm really relieved and thankful to the team," he said. It's been about two years since I've won and I'm super happy."

After the team's aggressive race, Theuns jumped out of the pack with 3km to go and just barely held on for the win with the same time as second place Pascal Ackermann (Bora-Hansgrohe) and the rest of the 27-man reduced peloton that nearly chased him.

"I'm really happy and proud of everyone for getting the job done. I want to thank Trek Segafredo for the win and the team for the victory. And I'm very happy that I was able to present the team with a victory."

He said.

Trek-Segafredo launched multiple attacks near the end of the race as the peloton approached the day's breakaway. Jasper Stuyven was able to get the peloton to close in on the final two breakaway riders with 7km to go, and four kilometers later, Theuns set up Stuyven to jump on him. Stuyven picked up the pace and quickly dropped out.

"I was a bit skeptical in the final because my legs didn't feel fresh anymore. I was talking to Jasper about how I didn't have the confidence to go for the sprint," said Theunce.

"Jasper tried to attack and Mads [Petersen] and I were in second and third, trying to slow the pack down and break the peloton's rhythm.

"Suddenly, I heard Mads yelling over the radio, 'Go for Eddie. So I jumped on Jasper. I wanted to follow him, but he quickly said, 'It's over. With 2.5 km to go, he made his final pull.

Theuns said he was motivated when he was informed over the radio that there was hesitation in the pack.

"Looking back, I saw that I was well ahead of the pack, but the last 800m was really tough with the headwind."

"I knew the sprint group had speed and I didn't want to put my hand up before we reached the finish line.

Indeed, Ackermann and the reduced peloton closed in rapidly and looked like they would absorb the lone rider before the finish, but Tuns held on and was able to celebrate with one hand off the bar.

"I looked behind me on the last straight and saw that I was getting so close," Tuns said. 'I've never finished so crampy. This is a real relief and I thank the team for continuing to believe in me despite the difficult year I had last year."[29