Image 1 of 5 Kristof Vandewalle (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) in the leader's yellow jersey after winning the prologue. (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 2 of 5 Stijn Devolder (RadioShack Leopard) cracked the top ten with a 6th place result. (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 3 of 5 Belgian time trial champion Kristof Vandewalle (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) powers to victory in the prologue time trial. (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 4 of 5 Niki Terpstra (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) finished fourth in the 7km prologue time trial. (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 5 of 5 Tobias Ludvigsson (Team Argos-Shimano) leads the young rider classification after finishing fifth in the prologue time trial. (Image credit: Photopress.be)

Kristof Vandewalle (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) won his first race of the 2013 season with a victory in the opening 7km prologue time trial at the Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen. The Belgian time trial champion finished eight seconds ahead of Tiago Machado (RadioShack Leopard) and nine seconds up on Omega Pharma-Quick Step teammate Gert Steegmans.

With his victory, Vandewalle earns the first leader's jersey of the three-day Belgian stage race.

"It was great to win today, with it only being my fifth race of the season." Vandewalle said. "To start winning like this is good. We started with a really strong team and we did a good warm-up. We started warming-up through motor pacing behind our bus driver Dirk Clarysse, which was 40km from the start. I think it was the right decision to do it like that.

"As for me, my condition was good for this race. But last week I became sick so it was one big question mark if I would be good today or not. So I had quite a good feeling when I started today, but did not come into this race expecting to have such a good result."

The Belgian ProTeam hopes to build on its momentum and looks to work for their sprinter Mark Cavendish on the upcoming stages.

"It's good for the morale," Vandewalle said. "Everyone performed really good and everyone was already motivated for this weekend. Now we have to perform in the next days. We will do our best to keep the leader's jersey in the team. Hopefully we can come into the next races with a win. I think it can be two times a bunch sprint if the wind is not that strong in either stage. With a guy like Cavendish on the team we always have a good chance."

Full Results 1 Kristof Vandewalle (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 0:08:09 2 Tiago Machado (Por) RadioShack Leopard 0:00:08 3 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 0:00:09 4 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 5 Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Team Argos-Shimano 6 Stijn Devolder (Bel) RadioShack Leopard 0:00:10 7 Johan Le Bon (Fra) FDJ 0:00:11 8 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 0:00:12 9 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ 0:00:14 10 Patrick Gretsch (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano 0:00:15 11 Frantisek Rabon (Cze) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 12 Anton Vorobyev (Rus) Katusha 0:00:16 13 Roger Kluge (Ger) Team NetApp-Endura 0:00:18 14 Bob Jungels (Lux) RadioShack Leopard 15 Dries Devenyns (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 0:00:19 16 Jesse Sergent (NZl) RadioShack Leopard 0:00:20 17 Julien Vermote (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 18 Alexander Porsev (Rus) Katusha 0:00:22 19 Benjamin King (USA) RadioShack Leopard 20 David Boucher (Fra) FDJ 21 Artem Ovechkin (Rus) RusVelo 22 Iljo Keisse (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 0:00:23 23 Jay McCarthy (Aus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 24 Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) FDJ 0:00:24 25 Jelle Wallays (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise 26 Michael Olsson (Swe) Team People4You-Unaas Cycling 0:00:25 27 Mikhail Ignatyev (Rus) Katusha 0:00:26 28 Yves Lampaert (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise 29 Nikias Arndt (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano 30 Jonathan Breyne (Bel) Crelan-Euphony 31 Benjamin Day (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team 32 Nelson Filipe Santos Simoes Oliveira (Por) RadioShack Leopard 0:00:27 33 Ben Hermans (Bel) RadioShack Leopard 34 Gediminas Bagdonas (Ltu) AG2R La Mondiale 35 Laurent Pichon (Fra) FDJ 0:00:28 36 Alexander Gingsjö (Swe) Team People4You-Unaas Cycling 0:00:29 37 Adrien Petit (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 38 Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) MTN-Qhubeka 39 Willem Wauters (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 40 Glenn O'Shea (Aus) An Post-Chainreaction 0:00:31 41 Timofey Kritskiy (Rus) Katusha 42 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) MTN-Qhubeka 43 Danny van Poppel (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 44 Marc De Maar (AHo) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team 45 Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg (RSA) Team Argos-Shimano 46 Hugo Houle (Can) AG2R La Mondiale 47 Viacheslav Kuznetsov (Rus) Katusha 48 Marco Haller (Aut) Katusha 0:00:32 49 Jan Ghyselinck (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 50 Pieter Jacobs (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise 51 Maxime Vantomme (Bel) Crelan-Euphony 52 Gijs Van Hoecke (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise 53 Ryan Roth (Can) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 54 Sander Cordeel (Bel) Lotto Belisol 55 Arnaud Gerard (Fra) Bretagne-Seche Environnement 56 Dominique Rollin (Can) FDJ 0:00:33 57 Jimmy Janssens (Bel) Team 3M 58 Wouter Mol (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:00:34 59 Pierre-Luc Perrichon (Fra) Bretagne-Seche Environnement 60 Nikolay Trusov (Rus) Cyclingteam De Rijke-Shanks 61 Viktor Manakov (Rus) RusVelo 0:00:35 62 Adrian Hegyvary (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team 63 Philip Lindau (Swe) Team People4You-Unaas Cycling 0:00:36 64 Jonathan Cantwell (Aus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 65 Jarl Salomein (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise 66 Alexey Tsatevich (Rus) Katusha 67 Maurits Lammertink (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:00:37 68 Jurgen Van De Walle (Bel) Lotto Belisol 69 Christoph Pfingsten (Ger) Cyclingteam De Rijke-Shanks 70 Georg Preidler (Aut) Team Argos-Shimano 71 Alphonse Vermote (Bel) An Post-Chainreaction 0:00:38 72 Kiel Reijnen (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team 73 Kenny Dehaes (Bel) Lotto Belisol 74 David Veilleux (Can) Team Europcar 75 Nikita Novikov (Rus) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:00:39 76 Mart Ojavee (Est) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 77 Markus Eichler (Ger) Team NetApp-Endura 78 Jonas Aaen Jörgensen (Den) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:00:40 79 Koen Barbe (Bel) Crelan-Euphony 0:00:41 80 Tom Van Asbroeck (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise 81 Brian Bulgac (Ned) Lotto Belisol 82 Bas Stamsnijder (Ned) Cyclingteam De Rijke-Shanks 83 Anthony Geslin (Fra) FDJ 84 Niko Eeckhout (Bel) An Post-Chainreaction 85 Johann Van Zyl (RSA) MTN-Qhubeka 0:00:42 86 Franck Bouyer (Fra) Team Europcar 87 Christopher Juul Jensen (Den) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 88 Julien Fouchard (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 89 Matt Brammeier (Irl) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 90 Alexander Wetterhall (Swe) Team NetApp-Endura 91 Ronan Van Zandbeek (Ned) Cyclingteam De Rijke-Shanks 92 Alexander Rybakov (Rus) RusVelo 93 Erick Rowsell (GBr) Team NetApp-Endura 0:00:43 94 Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor) Bretagne-Seche Environnement 95 Ferekalsi Debesay Abrha (Eri) MTN-Qhubeka 96 Kurt Hovelynck (Bel) Crelan-Euphony 97 Coen Vermeltfoort (Ned) Cyclingteam De Rijke-Shanks 98 Sergey Klimov (Rus) RusVelo 0:00:44 99 Pavel Kochetkov (Rus) RusVelo 100 Jonas Ahlstrand (Swe) Team Argos-Shimano 101 Benjamin Verraes (Bel) Accent Jobs-Wanty 0:00:45 102 Christopher Jones (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team 103 William Clarke (Aus) Team Argos-Shimano 0:00:46 104 Stijn Neirynck (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise 105 Jonas Van Genechten (Bel) Lotto Belisol 0:00:47 106 Maarten Neyens (Bel) Lotto Belisol 107 Kevin Claeys (Bel) Crelan-Euphony 0:00:48 108 Mark McNally (GBr) An Post-Chainreaction 109 Roman Maikin (Rus) RusVelo 110 Matthias Friedemann (Ger) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 0:00:49 111 Florent Barle (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 112 Bjorn Thurau (Ger) Team Europcar 113 Kess Heytens (Bel) Team 3M 114 Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) Accent Jobs-Wanty 115 Florian Vachon (Fra) Bretagne-Seche Environnement 116 Jo Kogstad Ringheim (Nor) Team People4You-Unaas Cycling 0:00:50 117 Andrei Solomennikov (Rus) RusVelo 118 Benoit Jarrier (Fra) Bretagne-Seche Environnement 119 Stefan Van Dijk (Ned) Accent Jobs-Wanty 0:00:51 120 Joren Segers (Bel) Team 3M 121 Fredrik Ludvigsson (Swe) Team People4You-Unaas Cycling 122 Tosh Van Der Sande (Bel) Lotto Belisol 0:00:52 123 Michael Schwarzmann (Ger) Team NetApp-Endura 124 Nico Sijmens (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 125 Clinton Robert Avery (NZl) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 0:00:53 126 Barry Markus (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 127 Alexander Mironov (Rus) RusVelo 128 Egidijus Juodvalkis (Ltu) Crelan-Euphony 129 Alessandro Bazzana (Ita) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team 130 Bobbie Traksel (Ned) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 0:00:55 131 Giovanni Bernaudeau (Fra) Team Europcar 132 Kenny Robert van Hummel (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 133 Thomas Vanhaecke (Bel) Team 3M 134 Robert Pölder (Swe) Team People4You-Unaas Cycling 0:00:56 135 Roy Sentjens (Bel) Cyclingteam De Rijke-Shanks 136 Nicolas Vereecken (Bel) An Post-Chainreaction 137 Rafael Andriato (Bra) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 138 Michael Vingerling (Ned) Team 3M 0:00:57 139 Scott Thwaites (GBr) Team NetApp-Endura 0:00:58 140 Ramon Carretero (Pan) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 141 Sven Vandousselaere (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise 142 Niels Wytinck (Bel) An Post-Chainreaction 143 Morgan Lamoisson (Fra) Team Europcar 144 Tony Hurel (Fra) Team Europcar 145 Stéphane Poulhies (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 146 Ronan McLaughlin (Irl) An Post-Chainreaction 0:00:59 147 Julian Kern (Ger) AG2R La Mondiale 148 Jonathan McEvoy (GBr) Team NetApp-Endura 0:01:00 149 Martin Reimer (Ger) MTN-Qhubeka 150 Axel Domont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:01:01 151 Youcef Reguigui (Alg) MTN-Qhubeka 152 Yohann Gene (Fra) Team Europcar 0:01:02 153 Benjamin Noval Gonzalez (Spa) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:01:04 154 Frederique Robert (Bel) Lotto Belisol 155 Steven Van Vooren (Bel) An Post-Chainreaction 156 Julien Berard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 157 Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) Cyclingteam De Rijke-Shanks 0:01:05 158 Ji Cheng (Chn) Team Argos-Shimano 159 Anthony Ravard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:01:06 160 Geoffroy Lequatre (Fra) Bretagne-Seche Environnement 161 Kristian Sbaragli (Ita) MTN-Qhubeka 162 Roy Jans (Bel) Accent Jobs-Wanty 163 Sébastien Chavanel (Fra) Team Europcar 164 Arnaud Labbe (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:01:07 165 Jean-Luc Delpech (Fra) Bretagne-Seche Environnement 166 Sjoerd Kouwenhoven (Ned) Cyclingteam De Rijke-Shanks 167 Luigi Miletta (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 0:01:09 168 Edwig Cammaerts (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 169 Renaud Dion (Fra) Bretagne-Seche Environnement 170 Johan Broberg (Swe) Team People4You-Unaas Cycling 0:01:10 171 Ralf Matzka (Ger) Team NetApp-Endura 172 Kevin Peeters (Bel) Crelan-Euphony 173 Cristiano Monguzzi (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 0:01:11 174 Nicolas Vogondy (Fra) Accent Jobs-Wanty 0:01:12 175 Andy Cappelle (Bel) Accent Jobs-Wanty 0:01:13 176 Wouter Wippert (Ned) Team 3M 177 Tom Goovaerts (Bel) Team 3M 178 Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 0:01:14 179 Davide Frattini (Ita) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team 180 Andreas Stauff (Ger) MTN-Qhubeka 0:01:15 181 Timothy Vangheel (Bel) Team 3M 0:01:18 182 Sebastian Ferner Johansen (Nor) Team People4You-Unaas Cycling 0:01:19 183 Takashi Miyazawa (Jpn) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 184 James Vanlandschoot (Bel) Accent Jobs-Wanty 0:01:24 185 Danilo Napolitano (Ita) Accent Jobs-Wanty 0:01:27 186 Mattia Pozzo (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 0:01:30 187 Pieter Van Herck (Bel) Crelan-Euphony 188 Wu Kin San (HKg) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 0:01:41 189 Jiao Pengda (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 0:01:51 190 Roberto De Patre (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 0:02:04 191 Marko Kump (Slo) Team Saxo-Tinkoff