Most of the finishers of the Tour of Flanders were in a place beyond words as they drifted through the mixed zone in Oudenaarde. In many cases, the haunted faces and chattering teeth told their own story. If this wasn’t quite hell, then it would do until the formal appointment with the infernal horrors at Paris-Roubaix next weekend.
Magnus Sheffield withstood the rigours of a tumultuous day better than most, reaching the finish in sixth place. On a day of relentless attacking and driving rain, Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) was in a league entirely of his own, but Sheffield came home with the best of the rest, contesting the sprint for the podium places, a minute behind the unassailable world champion.
The group of favourites splintered and reformed repeatedly in the second half of the race after Visma-Lease A Bike and Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) had attempted to test Van der Poel from distance. Sheffield and his Ineos Grenadiers teammates found themselves chasing the race at various points, but they were increasingly to the fore after Van der Poel pressed clear alone on the Koppenberg.
After picking his way through the carnage, Sheffield doughtily emerged among the strongest of the pursuers over the final ascent of the Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg to score one of the finest results of his young career. If victory at Brabantse Pijl two years ago indicated the American’s potential as a one-day rider, this was a demonstration of his ability to withstand Monument distance.
“I felt like I was just riding through groups,” Sheffield said when he stopped in the mixed zone. “I was in decent position every time we hit the Kwaremont, but I think it was the Koppenberg where you saw all of us sort of had to dismount and run or walk up the cobbles. There were a few crashes too, but Ben [Turner] was able to chase as well as Josh [Tarling] and we were at least able to try to fight for a podium. In the sprint, I didn’t have the legs, but I really have to thank the team for never giving up and putting me in the best position possible.”
The Koppenberg provided the most indelible image of this race, not only for Van der Poel’s winning attack, but for the chaos on the hillside behind him. A steady deluge throughout the afternoon had made the cobbles of the notorious climb more treacherous still, and most riders chasing Van der Poel were compelled to dismount and walk. After reaching the top on foot, each man had to reshape his race as best he could.
“There’s the Koppenberg cyclocross race, and I think that’s the best way you can describe it,” Sheffield said. “Honestly, with road shoes they’re not meant to run up cobbles, and we were trying to get up as quickly as possible. As soon as I saw guys remount, I tried to do the same. I think at that point, Mathieu had already attacked, so we were just trying to chase as best as possible.”
Monuments
It’s easy to forget that Sheffield is still only 21 years of age, but he has covered considerable ground in his seasons at WorldTour level to date. Although his 2023 campaign was interrupted by a heavy and traumatic crash at the Tour de Suisse, he finished the year with strong showings at the Tour of Britain and the CRO Race. After a subdued cobbled Classics campaign to this point, Sheffield offered a reminder of his ability on this terrain at the Ronde.
“Flanders is such a historic race. There’s never been an American to win, but I told myself a top ten was possible, so I think we can be really happy that we were fighting for the podium,” he said. “This is only my third Flanders, but each year I’ve come back better and more experienced. For my career, this was a good showing. I can learn from this and hopefully I can fight for the win one day.”
On Sunday, of course, the race winner was operating on a different plane to everybody else, and in recent seasons, the biggest one-day races have been the preserve of a restricted cadre of riders and teams. Nine of the twelve Monuments since Sheffield turned professional have been won by Van der Poel, Tadej Pogačar or Remco Evenepoel.
“I grew up racing cyclocross, so Van der Poel was a big idol, but I do have to remind myself that everyone is human at the end of the day,” Sheffield said. “Okay, there are the guys you call aliens, like Van der Poel, Van Aert, Jonas [Vingegaard] and Pogacar. I think Van der Poel is an incredible rider, but at the end of the day, he has two legs and he’s no different than the rest of us.”
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