Flanders Race Report: Mathieu van der Poel was expected to win the Tour of Flanders, but the Alpecin-Deceuninck took an epic Ronde with solo effort in the Flemish rain, going solo from the Koppnberg. Surprisingly, Luca Mozzato (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) was second and Michael Matthews was third, but the Australian was declassed in favour for Nils Politt (UAE Team Emirates).
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Mathieu van der Poel won the Tour of Flanders for the third time. In his rainbow jersey, the World champion of Alpecin-Deceuninck soloed to victory after making the decisive attack on a soaking wet Koppenberg for a solo of 45 kilometres.
Mathieu van der Poel takes his third Tour of Flanders in the rainbow
Parcours
After the start in Antwerp, the first 100 kilometres of the 270.8 kilometres race, the peloton passes through Sint-Niklaas, Hamme, Haaltert, Herzele and Zottegem to reach the Flemish Ardennes, where the race will really start. The Lippenhovestraat and the Paddestraat are the first difficulties of the day after 104 kilometres of racing. The riders will then race over the usual finale of the Ronde van Vlaanderen. After 136 kilometres they take on the first passage of the Oude Kwaremont. From then on the climbs and cobbles come one after the other in quick succession. The Kapelleberg, the cobbles of the Holleweg, the Wolvenberg, the cobbles of the Kerkgate and the Jagerij, the climb of the Molenberg, the Marlboroughstraat, the Berendries and finally the Valkenberg all within 30 kilometres.
Flanders’24 map
The top of the Valkenberg is just under 90 kilometres from the finish. At that point the riders have completed 180 kilometres. After the Valkenberg, if you are still there, there is time to attack. This is possible on the Berg Ten Houte or the Hotond. After the Hotond it’s the Oude Kwaremont for the second time and then to the Paterberg. The first passage of the Paterberg always causes action as the Koppenberg is next on the horizon. “We have made the run-up to the Koppenberg more straight forward and we have eliminated the descent and sharp bend just before the ascent,” the organisers explained. The tough Koppenberg is the place where the favourites will make their mark. The Mariaborrestraat, Steenbeekdries and Traaiberg are another opportunity for attacks. Traaiberg is followed by the Hotond, then there are 10 kilometres to the Oude Kwaremont for the last time.
Flanders’24 profile
The Oude Kwaremont is 16.7 kilometres from the finish. The cream should have already come to the top of the milk by this point and now is the time for them to make life hard for each other before their final chance, 13.2 kilometres from the finish on the Paterberg. The Paterberg is short at less than 400 metres and ideal for the more explosive riders. From the summit there are 13 flat kilometres to Oudenaarde. The wind can be strong on the run-in to the finish, tough for a solo rider, but if there is a group, then tactics will come into play for a sprint on the wide Minderbroedersstraat in Oudenaarde.
The start in Antwerp
Top favourite, Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), spoke before the start: “We are just going to try to control that race as best as possible and win. I have said it before: it is always easy to race when the best riders are there, which does not mean that there are no good riders now. But you just know: with Wout van Aert and Jasper Stuyven, and with Mads Pedersen who is one hundred percent, that they would ride to the finish. They believe they can win. But I expect an open battle today. I think that’s a bit too early (on the Kapelleberg-Molenberg). Maybe the race will open up there, but I’m not going to force anything there myself yet. It’s a different start (from 2023). Then the wind played a bit. I might sit a little further from the front.”
Oier Lazkano (Movistar), Matteo Jorgenson (Visma | Lease a Bike) and Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) before the start
Man on form, Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) at the start: “We try to race as we have done before,”“We miss Jasper and Alex, but we have a very strong team. We believe we can continue racing as we have been doing. We think that the race around the Molenberg can be opened, that is not a problem for us. The faster it becomes man-to-man, the better for us. Have my chances changed after my fall in Dwars door Vlaanderen? Naturally. It is never ideal to crash three days before Flanders, but all things considered, I still believe that I am better than other years. We’ll see how it goes. I hope for the best.”
A problem for favourite Mads Pedersen at the start
Jayco AlUla’s Luke Durbridge wanted to be in the ‘Break of the Day’
Get well soon Wout
Alpecin-Deceuninck took control early to make sure the break stayed away
The race passed through Sint Niklaas, where De Ronde started from 1977 to 1997
The break was going to be out front for a long time
The peloton was pleased to see the break go, but they were not sitting back
Mathieu van der Poel wasn’t getting close to the front early in the race, here he comes back to the peloton with Micheal Matthews
Through Oudenaarde for the first time
The break on the Oude Kwaremont for the first time
Crazy scenes on the Kwaremont for the peloton
Mads Pedersen was the first of the favourited to show his hand, followed by Matteo Jorgenson
Pedersen went with just under 100K to go, but he had Gianni Vermeersch with him
Van der Poel pulled the race together again on the Paterberg
It was time for Van der Poel to go
The World champion just kept putting time into the chasers
Ronde van Vlaanderen Result:
1. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Deceuninck in 6:05:17
2. Luca Mozzato (Ita) Arkéa-B&B Hotels at 1:02
3. Nils Politt (Ger) UAE Team Emirates
4. Mikkel Bjerg (Den) UAE Team Emirates
5. António Morgado (Por) UAE Team Emirates
6. Magnus Sheffield (USA) INEOS Grenadiers
7. Oliver Naesen (Bel) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale
8. Dylan Teuns (Bel) Israel-Premier Tech
9. Alberto Bettiol (Ita) EF Education-EasyPost
10. Toms Skujiņš (Lat) Lidl-Trek.
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