Cycling: Mathieu van der Poel has won the Tour of Flanders again. The Dutchman can celebrate for the third time at the Ronde after an impressive solo. With 17 slipways and a length of 270,8 kilometers from Antwerp to Oudenaarde, the 108th edition of the Ronde van Vlaanderen on Easter Sunday was one of the highlights of the 2024 cycling season.
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Correction:
Michael Matthews (Jayco – AlUla) was relegated from third place to the back of the group after the race. The German can do that Nils Politt (UAE) are happy about a podium place!
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Van der Poel fends off all attacks
They challenged him and tried to annoy him – but in vain. Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin – Deceuninck) won the Tour of Flanders for the third time, following his victories in 2020 and 2022. The Dutchman and his team faced numerous attacks around the midpoint of the race, but maintained control throughout. Attacks on the Oude Kwaremont and the Koppenberg allowed the 29-year-old to finally break away from his companions and ride solo to victory. Luca Mozzato (Arkéa – B&B Hotels) of Italy and Michael Matthews (Jayco – AlUla) of Australia completed the podium, after the chasing duo of Dylan Teuns (Israel – Premier-Tech) and Alberto Bettiol (EF Education – EasyPost) were caught just meters from the finish. Nils Politt (UAE) narrowly missed out on one of his greatest successes, sprinting to fourth place. The usually dominant Visma-LaB team will be disappointed. Not a single rider in yellow and black finished in the top 10.
The 8 early breakaways from the 2024 Tour of Flanders
- Bert van Lerberghe (Soudal – Quick Step)
- David Decker (Arkea – B&B Hotels)
- Stanislaw Aniolkowski (Cofidis)
- Damien Touze (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale)
- Luke Durbridge (Jayco – AlUla)
- Elmar Reinders (Jayco – AlUla)
- Lionel Taminiaux (Lotto – Dstny)
- Jelle Vermoote (Bingoal WB)
Attacks on Wolvenberg & Molenberg
Eight breakaway riders dominated the opening hours of the Tour of Flanders with their attacks. The group, including Bert van Lerberghe (Soudal – Quick-Step), was given a lead of almost five minutes. However, as attacks from prominent riders in the peloton began early on, the breakaway was over 100 kilometers from the finish. On the Wolvenberg climb, Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) and Axel Laurance (Alpecin – Deceuninck) first tried their luck, followed later by Matteo Jorgenson (Visma – LaB) and Søren Kragh Andersen (Alpecin – Deceuninck). The team of the pre-race favorite made it clear: if you send someone to attack, one of us will go with you. A few kilometers later, Mads Pedersen (Lidl – Trek) attacked on the Molenberg, but Matteo Jorgenson (Visma – LaB) and Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin – Deceuninck) immediately latched onto his wheel.
Küng falls and fights his way back up
On the next climbs – Marlboroughstraat and Berendries – further attacks came, putting Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin – Deceuninck) on the back foot. Supported by his strong team, he eventually managed to rejoin the peloton. However, his rivals repeatedly signaled that even without the recently crashed Wout van Aert (Visma – LaB) and Jasper Stuyven (Lidl – Trek), they were not willing to concede the peloton to the world champion without a fight. Mads Pedersen (Lidl – Trek) seemed particularly motivated today. The Dane went on the offensive again on the Valkenberg and took Gianni Vermeersch (Alpecin – Deceuninck) with him. Meanwhile, one of the favorites , Stefan Küng (Groupama – FDJ), almost completely dashed his hopes. The Swiss rider crashed, along with Alessandro Covi (UAE) and Cees Bol (Astana), among others . Thanks to his teammates, he was able to catch up with the group of favorites after a roughly 20-kilometer chase.
Attacks on the Oude Kwaremont & Koppenberg
Although Gianni Vermeersch (Alpecin – Deceuninck) was at the front, Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin – Deceuninck) decided to let his teammates in the chase group do the work. This reduced the gap to around 15 seconds. But suddenly the picture changed: Vermeersch rejoined the lead, while his teammates in the peloton were no longer visible. The world champion was thus setting up his big attack. On the Oude Kwaremont, he turned on the afterburners, closing the gap to the leading duo, but taking numerous riders with him. Since the group was then disorganized, many riders who had already been dropped were able to rejoin the peloton. After the Paterberg, Ivan Garcia Cortina (Movistar) attempted a solo attack. He managed to build a lead of around 20 seconds, but then had to dismount and push his bike up the Koppenberg. Due to the rain-soaked cobblestones, several other riders suffered the same fate. Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin – Deceuninck) had no problems . The world champion launched the decisive attack and broke away as a soloist.
Third Ronde victory for van der Poel
Matteo Jorgensen (Visma – LaB) was also unable to keep up. The American rode just a few meters behind for a long time, but then had to admit that he couldn't close the gap on his own. He was then picked up by the chasing group. But even with their combined efforts, they couldn't gain any time on Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin – Deceuninck). On the contrary, the world champion's lead increased rapidly, so the chasing group eventually gave up and focused solely on fighting for second place. This marks the Dutchman's third victory at the Tour of Flanders, following his wins in 2020 and 2022. He has now won a total of five Monuments.
Riders push their bikes up the Koppenberg as Mathieu Van der Poel powers away with only Matteo Jorgensen being able to follow #FLCS pic.twitter.com/WCDgzhlS4C
— Eurosport (@eurosport) March 31, 2024