Jorgenson survives an eventful journey through Flanders, which Van Aert leaves behind in an ambulance

It is the final test, the previous step towards it Tour through Flanders, So it is a serious appointment. There, in the heart of the Flemish territory, a Spanish boy dared to talk to great lovers of classical stones, discovered the jar with the essences and thereby showed his enormous talent. On this occasion, Oier Lazkano (24 years old) was far from the version that earned him 2nd place Through Flanders, a role he took on Jonas Abrahamsen. The one from Uno-X ended up in the same position after resisting the attacks of the favorites from the breakaway, a scenario in which the main characters unfortunately did not fight.

This resulted in a pile-up 65 km from the finish line, caused by several runners coming into contact Retirement of Jasper Stuyven, Biniam Girmay and Wout van Aert. The Belgian, who had just crashed again in E3, suffered broken collarbones and ribs. As confirmed by Visma, goodbye Tour through Flanders, Paris-Roubaix and Amstel Gold Race. The war report doesn’t end here, because Mads Pedersen another favorite and recent winner of the Gent-Wevelgem, He was involved, although he continued the race with signs of severe pain. I wasn’t aware of all of this Mathieu van der Poel (he did not take part in the competition today), in addition to a Matteo Jorgenson this after winning his first with authority Through Flanders will become Visma’s most important asset De Ronde in the absence of Van Aert.

The way to do it The 78th edition of the Belgian semi-classic covered 188.6 km, among which ten sections of pavés were distributed. Some of them rise in the style of the second monument in the calendar. Since there was no ceasefire from the start, the high pace prevented consolidation Escape until the first 50 kilometers are exceeded. Casper Pedersen, Norsgaard, Grondin, Gachignard, De Bondt, Vercouille, Maciejuk, Grondahl Jansen, Abrahamsen, Märkl and Eenkhoorn were its members.

The race heated up over the next few hours The favorite teams control the escape at all times. They had the upper hand. But despite so much calm, Visma suffered an unexpected setback: Jan Tratnik wanted to leave. The Slovenian who won a month ago Omloop, He started out as a key piece for Van Aert. The Belgian was left without his luxury squire and the world was still ahead of him. The test track began to explode on the climb to Kortekeer, where the acceleration of the Groupama He reduced the platoon to half his units.

Irreparable damage

On the way to the final sections of the cobblestones, where everything is solved traditionally, the action got hotter and hotter. However, all of them Forecasts were shattered earlier than expected. Also the hopes of some favorites… About 65km from the finish line there was a huge pile-up in the group which resulted in Girmay, Stuyven and… Van Aert being forced to retire! Pedersen was also involved, but continued. The impact at about 50 km/h was terrible. Also the consequences.

As a result, the group was completely broken and victory rested in the hands of a few survivors who were able to forge a path. Visma (Jorgenson and Benoot) and EF Education (Bettiol and Valgren), equal in number, with Tarling and Küng as luxury guests. On the famous elevation of Nokereberg was Bettiol, who gained a few meters, but the misfortune also shook the Italian. As with the Tour Down Under 2023, Bettiol began to suffer from cramps which completely incapacitated him. After several attempts, Jorgenson succeeded. With 7 km to go, the American accelerated and took advantage of his markings. Teammate Benoot from behind to keep the rest at bay. A nice show but very high costs…

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