Van der Poel wins his third Tour of Flanders in the misfortune of Cortina

Thousands of fans are committed to the cause, providing runners with extra watts when their hearts are racing and their legs are burning. And suddenly there is silence. Synonym for misfortune. Impossible ramps, wet cobblestones and… a breakdown. Dry braking. Also to the illusions of Ivan García Cortina, who, due to the unexpected setback that forced him to give up the lead in the race Complete the climb to Koppenberg on foot. There he has arrived, a flaming rainbow, to do what he does best. Win, sweep.

An attack more than 40 km from the target was enough Mathieu van der Poel wins the Tour of Flanders mostly. We will never know what would have happened with Van Aert and Pogacar in the race, who can truly measure their level, or what scenario would have remained without Cortina’s mishap, but given their superiority it seems inconceivable that anyone would have been able to keep up at all the supremacy of the Dutch. The podium was completed by Luca Mozzato and Nils Politt, who inherited third place due to Michael Matthews’ suspension (irregular sprint). The third conquest of the Tour of Flanders (fifth monument) makes Van der Poel the top winner of this race together with Buysse, Magni, Leman, Museeuw, Boonen and Cancellara. In the world champion’s jersey, only Louison Bobet (1955), Rik Van Looy (1962), Eddy Merckx (1975), Boonen (2006) and Peter Sagan (2016) raised their arms in front of him. Legend.

Starting flag, 270km to go and 17 hills, some cobbled, plus another seven flat cobbled sections. Pure epic, pure cycling. The 108th edition of De Ronde It began with an intense tug-of-war to form the breakaway group, which soon consisted of eight runners: Van Lerberghe, Dekker, Aniolkowski, Touzé, Durbridge, Reinders, Taminiaux and Vermoote. It was difficult for them to consolidate their lead, but meter by meter, second by second, they made their way. The race went smoothly until the first difficulties arose. Little to say… if it weren’t for the fact that 200 km ahead of us The level crossing on which a train was traveling forced the refugees to stand up. When the race started again after a minute, the peloton crossed this point without stopping, leaving the leading eight at a disadvantage.

Sportsmanship prevailed in the large group. The foot was taken off the accelerator and those in front regained their 4-minute lead. This is how it was achieved first step through the Oude Kwaremont, where the first difficulties became apparent. Mohoric, one of the favorites went down in the first few meters, but without any unfortunate consequences. Then more falls, more tension. Moments when refugees begin to dream, in one of the most unpredictable and uncontrollable races there is. In this scenario, your options are always growing.

But the Molenberg and everything was turned upside down. Pedersen, a lesson in honor and courage despite the consequences of his terrible fall Through Flanders Four days ago he made the first selection in the favorites group. The leak was engulfed. A first cut was created with a double presence of the Visma Benoot and Jorgenson, Politt and Turner after the Danish one, where Van der Poel was not there. The cold-blooded Dutchman took refuge in the work of two of his colleagues. Pedersen created more space at the front, but Vermeersch quickly joined him. Alpecin, in an impeccable tactical lesson, He had the situation under control on all fronts.

The cucumber

Minutes later, Pedersen was caught. Too many wasted bullets. Regrouping, new beginnings. And then came the second pass through the Oude Kwaremont, an iconic route where the final selection took place. Movistar waited until this point when Lazkano accelerated. It wasn’t successful. Van der Poel reacted to his maneuver and managed to open a gap, but Lazkano gave him the gauntlet after passing the pavé. followed by the rest of the “roosters”. In this moment of doubt, of pause, the telephone team hit the nail on the head: Cortina pushed forward and was at the front of the race with a few precious seconds. The increasingly heavy rain increased in intensity. A warning of what was to come…

The courage shown by Movistar became a disgrace. He The Koppenberg was an ice skating rink, which forced Cortina (mechanical breakdown) and most of the favorites to make the climb on foot. The one who didn’t have the biggest problem was, who else, Van der Poel. The Dutchman made his move there and destroyed the rest. Jorgenson tried to pursue him alone, but the distance kept growing. When there were still over 40 km to go, everything was sorted out. Monologue from “MVP”, who triumphantly entered Oudenaarde to confirm that he himself is already one of the best classical music lovers of all time. He has completed the 16 Monuments he has completed with fifteen top-10 finishes, nine podiums and five wins. From another planet.

Longo Borghini, nine years later

Almost a decade, in many cases an entire sports career. But after several disappointments and a place on the podium at the last edition, Elisa Longo Borghini raised her arms again at the Tour of Flanders, where she had not managed a win since 2015. The Italian with her brand new tricolor As national champion, she claimed victory by demonstrating her top speed in a short three-man sprint. For the first time in a long time, Lidl-Trek was able to overcome the overwhelming dominance of SD Worx, the trend of recent seasons. At the crucial moment, Lotte Kopecky, Demi Vollering and Lorena Wiebes didn’t make it into the final cut.

There, Longo played with the advantage of having her teammate Shirin van Anrooij in front of her, who tackled the Paterberg, the final climb of the route (163 km), at the front. Katya Niewiadoma managed to reach her, but with Longo at the wheel. The polish was the cheese of the sandwich. Van Anroij (3.) He sacrificed himself by starting the sprint for the Italian, which was infinitely superior to Niewiadoma (2nd).

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