Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) took a record-equalling victory at the Tour of Flanders on Sunday, joining an exclusive club of riders who have won the race three times.
The world champion launched his winning move on the Koppenberg, the twelfth of 17 rain-soaked hellingen climbs, with 45km to go. There, as his competitors unclipped and scaled the 20% slope by foot, the Dutchman sailed clear.
He then soloed over the Oude Kwaremont and the Paterberg, on to the line in Oudenaarde. Over a minute later, Luca Mozzato (Arkéa - B&B Hotels) pipped Michael Matthews (Jayco-AlUla) to second in a photo finish. The Australian was then relegated, with Nils Politt (UAE Team Emirates) rounding out the podium.
Only seven men in history have won the Tour of Flanders three times, among them Tom Boonen, Fabian Cancellara and Johan Museeuw.
Van der Poel's victory came in the absence of his career-long rival, Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike), who suffered “several fractures” in a crash at Dwars door Vlaanderen on Wednesday and pulled out of the Monument.
How it happened
One of the biggest races in the calendar, attacks for the victory started from 100km to go. The first meaningful move came courtesy of Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), who accelerated on the 400m-long Molenberg, agitating the bunch, and pulling away a select group of the race favourites, save for Van der Poel, who bided his time in the group behind.
When the Dutchman zipped across the gap 10km later, Pedersen attacked again off the front. Van der Poel would not earn his third win easily, it became clear. His Alpecin-Deceuninck team-mate Gianni Vermeersch followed Pedersen to police the move.
With 55km to go, on the second of three ascents of the Oude Kwaremont, Van der Poel caught and passed the leading duo. Would he go solo? Not just yet. The group reassembled a few kilometres later, and scaled the Paterberg as one.
Ivan García Cortina (Movistar) led onto the Koppenberg, the steepest of the hellingen in the race, but fell victim to a mechanical and stepped off onto the cobbles.
As the Spaniard tinkered frantically with his bike, Van der Poel flew over his shoulder. One bike length, two bike lengths. The gap to his rivals behind grew on the slippery, double-figure gradients. Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) chased, while almost every other rider unclipped and walked up the cobbles. A peculiar sight, befitting of the sportive held the day before, but telling of the difficulty of the pitch.
For the six-time cyclo-cross world champion, the Koppenberg was light work. His seven-second advantage to Jorgenson stretched out on the descent. Within moments, he was almost two minutes clear, and cruising over the famous finale pairing of the Oude Kwaremont and the Paterberg.
With the finish line in sight, Van der Poel slowed to freewheel and soak in the moment. He then lifted his bike above his head, a Belgian-born Dutchman, triumphant in Flanders once again.
"It's one of the hardest races I've ever done," Van der Poel said afterwards. It was also one of his most spectacular victories.
Results
Tour of Flanders 2024: Antwerp > Oudenaarde (270.8km)
1. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Deceuninck, in 6-05-17
2. Luca Mozzato (Ita) Arkéa - B&B Hotels, +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, all at same time
