Tour of Flanders 2013 [FULL RACE]

March 31, 2013

Tour of Flanders 2013 – Brugge – Oudenaarde : 256,2 km

A year after controversial course changes overshadowed the build-up to the 2012 Tour of Flanders, a virtually replica race profile has been kept for this year’s edition, but while the Muur and the Bosberg remain on the side lines, the lap system that remains in place still has plenty to offer. Last year Tom Boonen, Alessandro Ballan and Filippo Pozzato broke free with 18 kilometres to go and stayed clear until the finish where the Belgian’s turn of speed was enough to seal his third Ronde title and continue his dominance of the Classics. A year has passed and a lot has changed. Perhaps most importantly teams and riders know a more about the course, tactics will change and the softly, softly approach that was taken on the opening lap of the final circuit may be modified. To draw a comparison, Le Manie was added to the Milan-San Remo course in 2008 but it took a couple of attempts for the peloton to realise that he climb could be used to distance the pure sprinters.

Fabian Cancellara (RadioShack Leopard) added a second Tour of Flanders victory to his immense palmares in emphatic fashion, soloing to victory in Oudenaarde.

Cancellara dispatched breakaway companions Peter Sagan (Cannondale) and Jurgen Roelandts (Lotto Belisol) on the final ascent of the Paterberg and had plenty of time to savour his win on the home stretch, having extended his lead to over a minute in the closing kilometres.

Sagan easily out-kicked Roelandts for second place while Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) led in the chase group for 10 seconds later.
Cancellara pointed to the sky as he crossed the line and then hugged is wife. He was the big favourite but managed to distance all his rivals and win alone.

“The goal was to win. You can’t always predict how but it’s amazing to win. A year ago I was on the ground. It’s never easy but I’m really happy,” he said.

“It was a strange race. It was fast at the beginning. There weren’t many riders left at the end but I did the right tactic. Everyone expected me to go and I tried to make the first selection on the Kwaremont. I love the cobbles and so after that I did what I had to do.”

How it happened

At exactly 10 o’clock, 205 riders left the crowded market in Bruges to kick off the 100th edition of the Ronde van Vlaanderen.

Temperatures barely reached freezing point, though the sun tried hard to warm up the riders’ spirits. Belgian champion and triple Ronde winner Tom Boonen received most support when he rode through the massive crowds in the medieval-looking town of Bruges.

However after just 19km of fast racing, Boonen was also the first rider to be named on race radio when the race passed through Lichtervelde. Boonen rode into some traffic furniture and injured his knee, hip and back. He was left lying at the side of a big road outside the town centre and clearly suffering from a lot of pain. For a brief moment the triple winner of the Ronde tried to get back on his bike but that turned out to be impossible. His race was over and he left in an ambulance to undergo further investigation in the hospital. Fortunately x-rays showed he did not suffer any fractures but his spring could be over.

Back in the race, it turned out to be extremely hard to create the breakaway move. There was an attack by nine riders which got more the three minutes once the race entered the hill zone. However some chasing from Team Europcar and later the Radioshack team brought the gap down again.

Counter-attacks in the peloton turned the situation around. Approaching the three loops through the hilly part of the race route, only Jetse Bol (Blanco) and Laurens De Vreese (Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise) survived from the early move. They were joined by André Greipel (Lotto-Belisol), Michael Kwiatkowski (Omega Pharma-Quickstep), Maarten Tjallingii (Blanco) and Marcel Sieberg (Lotto-Belisol).

The six leaders worked well together and arrived at the foot of the long cobbled climb with a one minute lead on the peloton. Bol quickly lost contact with his companions but the ascent of the Oude Kwaremont, Paterberg and Koppenberg didn’t change the race situation up front. The steepness of the Koppenberg forced many riders to put their foot on the ground, blocking the racing and then forcing a huge chase. One minute ahead of the peloton the five remaining leaders reached the feed zone where Cancellara crashed last year. Mirko Selvaggi (Vacansoleil-DCM) and Sébastien Minard (AG2R La Mondiale) profited from the cease-fire to bridge across to the lead group. Behind it was still a waiting game, with the big favourites watching each other carefully.

The leaders hit the second loop with less than half a minute advantage on the peloton. On the first slopes of the second climb of the Oude Kwaremont, Sieberg and De Vreese quickly got dropped. The peloton rushed to the Paterberg at high speed but the resulting waves concluded with a crash for Geraint Thomas (Sky).

Juan Antonio Flecha (Vacansoleil-DCM) lost contact with the peloton due to a mechanical on the Paterberg. After this nasty duo of climbs, there were only two riders left in front: Selvaggi and Kwiatkowski.

With 32km to go Yoann Offredo (FDJ), Jurgen Roelandts (Lotto-Belisol), Sébastien Hinault (IAM) and Sébastien Turgot (Europcar) anticipated accelerations from the big guns, with an attack on the section between the Paterberg and the Hotond. Once over the Hotond only Kwiatkowski was able to keep up with these men. When diving back towards Berchem and the final ascent of the Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg, the peloton trailed the five leaders by just 30 seconds, mainly thanks to the work from Stijn Devolder (Radioshack). The race was still wide open.

Cancellara makes his move

Roelandts and Hinault distanced their companions, just before hitting the final ascent of the Oude Kwaremont. Roelandts then went alone once he reached the cobbled section. Behind Cancellara finally made is move. Everyone was expecting it but his immense power allowed him to distance all the other riders, except for Peter Sagan, who just managed to hold his wheel. As expected, they would fifth for victory.

Roelandts still had a lead when reaching the top of the 2200m long climb. Cancellara and Sagan trailed the Belgian by fifteen seconds as the rest of the break was caught. The rest of the field was blown away.

Roelandts tried to recover as he waited for Cancellara and Sagan. The trio hit the Paterberg with a 15-second lead over a 25-man strong chase group which was led by Sylvain Chavanel (Omega Pharma-Quickstep), Luca Paolini (Katusha) and Sebastiaan Langeveld (Orica-GreenEdge). However it was all about Cancellara and Sagan.

Cancellara led the trio on the steepest, cobbled part of the Paterberg. He looked back as Roelandts was gapped and then blasted away. Roelandts cracked and then just before reaching the top Sagan bowed his head in a sign of defeat and the gap opened. Cancellara did not hesitate and switched to time trial mode, tucked low over his bike, pushing a huge gear.

The race was over. Cancellara’s experience and power had defeat Sagan’s youth and speed.

Results :
1 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) RadioShack Leopard 6:06:01
2 Peter Sagan (Svk) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:01:27
3 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Lotto Belisol 0:01:29
4 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha 0:01:39
5 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ
6 Heinrich Haussler (Aus) IAM Cycling
7 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team
8 Sébastien Turgot (Fra) Team Europcar
9 John Degenkolb (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano
10 Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Orica-GreenEdge
11 Lars Boom (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team
12 Daniel Oss (Ita) BMC Racing Team
13 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
14 Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
15 Oscar Gatto (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia
16 Yoann Offredo (Fra) FDJ
17 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling
18 Björn Leukemans (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
19 Vincent Jerome (Fra) Team Europcar
20 Johan Vansummeren (Bel) Garmin-Sharp
21 Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
22 Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing Team
23 Luca Paolini (Ita) Katusha 0:01:48
24 Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ 0:02:30
25 Matti Breschel (Den) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:02:49
26 Sébastien Hinault (Fra) IAM Cycling
27 Jens Debusschere (Bel) Lotto Belisol
28 Paul Voss (Ger) Team NetApp-Endura
29 Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) Blanco Pro Cycling Team
30 Steve Chainel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
31 Maxime Vantomme (Bel) Crelan-Euphony
32 Michael Schär (Swi) BMC Racing Team
33 Martin Elmiger (Swi) IAM Cycling
34 Maxim Iglinskiy (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
35 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar
36 Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
37 Kristijan Koren (Slo) Cannondale Pro Cycling
38 Borut Bozic (Slo) Astana Pro Team
39 Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
40 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
41 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Sky Procycling
42 Grégory Rast (Swi) RadioShack Leopard
43 Maarten Wynants (Bel) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 0:04:56
44 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Lampre-Merida
45 Francisco José Ventoso Alberdi (Spa) Movistar Team 0:05:40
46 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Sharp 0:05:56
47 Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia
48 Marco Bandiera (Ita) IAM Cycling
49 Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling
50 Iljo Keisse (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
51 André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol
52 Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team
53 Egidijus Juodvalkis (Ltu) Crelan-Euphony
54 Sébastien Minard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
55 Xavier Florencio Cabre (Spa) Katusha
56 Frederik Willems (Bel) Lotto Belisol
57 Manuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC Racing Team
58 Stijn Devolder (Bel) RadioShack Leopard
59 Andrey Amador Bakkazakova (CRc) Movistar Team
60 Mattia Cattaneo (Ita) Lampre-Merida 0:07:45
61 Kristof Goddaert (Bel) IAM Cycling 0:10:52
62 Russell Downing (GBr) Team NetApp-Endura
63 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
64 Laurens De Vreese (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise
65 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Cannondale Pro Cycling
66 Simone Ponzi (Ita) Astana Pro Team
67 Vladimir Gusev (Rus) Katusha
68 Grega Bole (Slo) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
69 Mirko Selvaggi (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
70 Gustav Larsson (Swe) IAM Cycling
71 Bert-Jan Lindeman (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
72 Martijn Maaskant (Ned) Garmin-Sharp
73 Baden Cooke (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
74 Klaas Lodewyck (Bel) BMC Racing Team
75 Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg (RSA) Team Argos-Shimano
76 Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano
77 Kurt Hovelynck (Bel) Crelan-Euphony 0:13:35
78 James Vanlandschoot (Bel) Accent Jobs-Wanty
79 Tom Van Asbroeck (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise
80 Nikias Arndt (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano
81 Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano
82 Jarl Salomein (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise
83 Jack Bauer (NZl) Garmin-Sharp
84 Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Orica-GreenEdge
85 Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto Belisol
86 Edward King (USA) Cannondale Pro Cycling
87 Benjamin Verraes (Bel) Accent Jobs-Wanty
88 Raymond Kreder (Ned) Garmin-Sharp
89 Vicente Reynes Mimo (Spa) Lotto Belisol
90 Imanol Erviti Ollo (Spa) Movistar Team
91 Juan Jose Oroz Ugalde (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
92 David Veilleux (Can) Team Europcar
93 Luke Rowe (GBr) Sky Procycling
94 Markel Irizar Aranburu (Spa) RadioShack Leopard
95 Koen De Kort (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano
96 Robert Wagner (Ger) Blanco Pro Cycling Team
97 Jos Van Emden (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team
98 Murilo Antonio Fischer (Bra) FDJ
99 Pieter Jacobs (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise
100 Vladimir Isaychev (Rus) Katusha
101 Andreas Schillinger (Ger) Team NetApp-Endura
102 Anders Lund (Den) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
103 Ian Stannard (GBr) Sky Procycling
104 Danilo Hondo (Ger) RadioShack Leopard
105 Bjorn Thurau (Ger) Team Europcar
106 Markus Eichler (Ger) Team NetApp-Endura
107 Mitchell Docker (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
108 Hugo Houle (Can) AG2R La Mondiale
109 Boy van Poppel (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
110 Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Orica-GreenEdge
111 Andreas Klier (Ger) Garmin-Sharp
112 Gijs Van Hoecke (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise
113 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
114 Dominic Klemme (Ger) IAM Cycling
115 Kris Boeckmans (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
DNS Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Astana Pro Team
DNS William Bonnet (Fra) FDJ
DNF Tom Boonen (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
DNF Gert Steegmans (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
DNF Davide Appollonio (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
DNF Gediminas Bagdonas (Ltu) AG2R La Mondiale
DNF Manuel Belletti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
DNF Valentin Iglinskiy (Kaz) AG2R La Mondiale
DNF Assan Bazayev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
DNF Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
DNF Ruslan Tleubayev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
DNF Rick Flens (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team
DNF Jetse Bol (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team
DNF Adam Blythe (GBr) BMC Racing Team
DNF Thor Hushovd (Nor) BMC Racing Team
DNF Mauro Da Dalto (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling
DNF Alan Marangoni (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling
DNF Elia Viviani (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling
DNF Peio Bilbao (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
DNF Ricardo Garcia Ambroa (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
DNF Steffen Radochla (Ger) Euskaltel-Euskadi
DNF Adrian Saez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
DNF André Schulze (Ger) Euskaltel-Euskadi
DNF Alexander Serebryakov (Rus) Euskaltel-Euskadi
DNF Ioannis Tamouridis (Gre) Euskaltel-Euskadi
DNF David Boucher (Fra) FDJ
DNF Mickael Delage (Fra) FDJ
DNF Johan Le Bon (Fra) FDJ
DNF Jacob Rathe (USA) Garmin-Sharp
DNF Sébastien Rosseler (Bel) Garmin-Sharp
DNF Aliaksandr Kuchynski (Blr) Katusha
DNF Alexey Tsatevich (Rus) Katusha
DNF Marco Haller (Aut) Katusha
DNF Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre-Merida
DNF Elia Favilli (Ita) Lampre-Merida
DNF Andrea Palini (Ita) Lampre-Merida
DNF Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre-Merida
DNF Massimo Graziato (Ita) Lampre-Merida
DNF Davide Vigano (Ita) Lampre-Merida
DNF Tosh Van Der Sande (Bel) Lotto Belisol
DNF Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Belisol
DNF Alex Dowsett (GBr) Movistar Team
DNF Jesus Herrada Lopez (Spa) Movistar Team
DNF Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Movistar Team
DNF Eloy Teruel Rovira (Spa) Movistar Team
DNF Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team
DNF Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
DNF Jens Mouris (Ned) Orica-GreenEdge
DNF Stuart O’Grady (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
DNF Tony Gallopin (Fra) RadioShack Leopard
DNF Hayden Roulston (NZl) RadioShack Leopard
DNF Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) RadioShack Leopard
DNF Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Sky Procycling
DNF Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Sky Procycling
DNF Gabriel Rasch (Nor) Sky Procycling
DNF Mathew Hayman (Aus) Sky Procycling
DNF Bert De Backer (Bel) Team Argos-Shimano
DNF William Clarke (Aus) Team Argos-Shimano
DNF Daniele Bennati (Ita) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
DNF Christopher Juul Jensen (Den) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
DNF Jonas Aaen Jörgensen (Den) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
DNF Jonathan Cantwell (Aus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
DNF Michael Morkov (Den) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
DNF Wesley Kreder (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
DNF Tim De Troyer (Bel) Accent Jobs-Wanty
DNF Jérôme Gilbert (Bel) Accent Jobs-Wanty
DNF Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) Accent Jobs-Wanty
DNF Roy Jans (Bel) Accent Jobs-Wanty
DNF Staf Scheirlinckx (Bel) Accent Jobs-Wanty
DNF Stefan Van Dijk (Ned) Accent Jobs-Wanty
DNF Christophe Premont (Bel) Crelan-Euphony
DNF Koen Barbe (Bel) Crelan-Euphony
DNF Jonathan Breyne (Bel) Crelan-Euphony
DNF Kevin Claeys (Bel) Crelan-Euphony
DNF Baptiste Planckaert (Bel) Crelan-Euphony
DNF Aleksejs Saramotins (Lat) IAM Cycling
DNF Jerome Cousin (Fra) Team Europcar
DNF Damien Gaudin (Fra) Team Europcar
DNF Yohann Gene (Fra) Team Europcar
DNF Zakkari Dempster (Aus) Team NetApp-Endura
DNF Blaz Jarc (Slo) Team NetApp-Endura
DNF Daniel Schorn (Aut) Team NetApp-Endura
DNF Alexander Wetterhall (Swe) Team NetApp-Endura
DNF Eliot Lietaer (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise
DNF Sven Vandousselaere (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise
DNF Preben Van Hecke (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise
DNF Stefano Borchi (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia
DNF Francesco Chicchi (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia
DNF Pier Paolo De Negri (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia
DNF Francesco Failli (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia
DNF Mauro Finetto (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia
DNF Mattia Pozzo (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia