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.
