Dwars door Vlaanderen 2019 [LAST 30 KM]

April 03, 2019

Dwars door Vlaanderen 2019 – Roeselare – Waregem : 182,8 km

Like a hardened Flandrien domestique, the behemoth that is Flanders Classics has shown no qualms about using its elbows to position its events precisely where it wants them. Over the past decade, the Belgian Classics calendar has been gradually reshaped to meet the wishes of Flanders Classics owner Wouter Vandenhaute, starting with the 2010 decision to move Gent-Wevelgem to the Sunday preceding the Tour of Flanders. It was only a matter of time before attention turned to the prime real estate in the week leading up to the Ronde, occupied by the Three Days of De Panne since 1977. For years, the Velo Club De Panne, rather like Asterix and his village of indomitable Gauls holding out against the Romans, gamely resisted the pressure to concede their slot on the calendar to Dwars door Vlaanderen, another Flanders Classics event, but they were eventually compelled to lay down arms last year. The rebranded Driedaagse Brugge-De Panne, now a one-day event, moved to the Wednesday after Milan-San Remo, a blow softened only in part by its elevation to WorldTour status this year, as well as the addition of a women’s WorldTour race. Dwars door Vlaanderen, which previously marked the beginning of a 10-day countdown to the Tour of Flanders, is now stationed as the final tune-up for Belgian cycling’s most hallowed day. Coming just four days before De Ronde, its distance was shaved back accordingly last year, though its difficulty and prestige remain undiminished.

Mathieu van der Poel (Corendon-Circus) took the first road WorldTour win of his career at Dwars door Vlaanderen with a convincing win ahead of Anthony Turgis (Direct Energie) and Bob Jungels (Deceuninck-QuickStep) rounding out the podium.

The trio were part of a five-man break that came into the finish after the main field had failed in their attempt to mount a chase. Van der Poel watched as Turgis opened up the sprint inside the final 250 meters before unleashing his own kick as the line approached. The Dutch national champion, who had been instrumental in forming the winning break with a series of early attacks, had no opposition in the end. He came around Turgis, with Jungels finishing a distant third.

“I had to make sure that nobody came from behind, I just looked when Turgis went. I felt there was a sprint in my legs and I just finished it off,” the 24-year-old winner said at the finish.

The victory was confirmation that Van der Poel’s form was unaffected by a hard crash two weeks ago in the sprint finish to Nokere Koerse, but he still played down his chances for a top finish in the Tour of Flanders on Sunday.

“It wasn’t a special moment when I crashed the other week it’s a very hard race. This was a very hard race too, only 180km today but this Sunday we go nearly 100km more. I don’t see myself as a favourite for Sunday yet, we’ll see what happens,” he said modestly.

The top three finishers were part of a group of five that formed with Tiesj Benoot (Lotto Soudal) and Lukas Pöstlberger (Bora-Hansgrohe) on and over the top of the Knokteberg, when Jungels and Benoot attacked on the climb to bridge over to van der Poel, Pöstlberger, and Turgis.

By that point Van der Poel had already attacked, kicking clear with over 60km to go and bringing a selection of riders with him. He and his companions quickly caught the remnants of the day’s early break, with the Corendon-Circus rider playing a pivotal role in as several of the pre-race favourites were left behind.

“It was an instinctive moment really Garcia Cortina reacted and I went with him. I think it was a perfect moment to anticipate everyone else,” van der Poel said.

With the bunch able to hold Van der Poel’s group at under a minute Benoot and Jungels attacked together and bridged over. After a fast descent, a new lead group had formed with Van der Poel, Benoot, Jungels, Turgis and Pöstlberger creating the winning selection.

Several riders, including Gianni Moscon (Team Sky) and Arnaud Demare (FDJ), attempted to make the juncture but with such firepower up ahead they were unable to make contact. Even on the final climbs of the Vossenhol and the Nokereberg, a determined chase from FDJ proved futile.

The five leaders worked tirelessly as they built a lead of over a minute, with Jungels kicking twice as he looked to shell the weaker riders from the group. However, even Pöstlberger, who had been in the first move of the day, held firm, and as the leaders swung around the final corner it was Turgis who attacked first.

The 24-year-old’s attack was well-timed but he lacked the finishing kick to distance van der Poel with the Dutch rider first on his wheel. By the time van der Poel came through on the right the win was virtually guaranteed.

An early break and a race stopped

With a number of high-profile Classics riders choosing to skip Dwars door Vlaanderen as they prepared for the Tour of Flanders, it fell on others to shine in one of Belgium’s most underrated mid-week WorldTour races.

Jonas Koch (CCC Team), Nelson Oliveira (Movistar), Ramon Sinkeldam (Groupama-FDJ), Zhandos Bizjigitov (Astana), Lukas Pöstlberger (Bora-Hansgrohe), Michael Hepburn (Mitchelton-Scott), Kris Boeckmans (Vital Concept-B&B Hotels) and Mihkel Räim (Israel Cycling Academy) formed the early break inside the opening phases of the race, and they built up a lead of around three minutes.

The peloton rose from their slumber inside the final 80km but they were soon at a standstill when race officials were forced to neutralize the race just before the Kluisberg. By the time the break was allowed to start riding again, their impetus – and Pöstlberger, who was given a motorbike tow after missing the restart – was lost.

Soon after an eager van der Poel kicked clear with Asgreen, Garcia Cortina, De Bondt and Turgis Knokteberg and by the time the Dutch rider’s group had crested the Tainenberg he had only Cortina Garcia and Turgis for company. Up ahead, Oliveira dropped his companions, and with 48km to go the Movistar rider lead the race from van der Poel’s group and the chasing peloton.

Six kilometres later and van der Poel’s group had merged with the first break, while Oliveira still held a slender lead. Jumbo-Visma, Team Sky and Lotto Soudal kept the bunch within touching distance and it looked as though van der Poel’s efforts would be in vain when the race reached the foot of the Knokteberg and the gap was down to just 15 seconds.

Jungels and Benoot looked to capitalize, with stinging attacks that brought them to within touching distance of the leaders.

On the descent, Pöstlberger linked up with Oliveira, but the Movistar rider would suffer a mechanical, and with 25km to go, Jungels, van der Poel, Turgis, Benoot and the soon caught Pöstlberger, created the key move.

Demare, who had tried to bridge over with the aid of a CCC Team rider, soon sat up and waited for his teammates, but even a determined Groupama-FDJ could make no impression on the leaders. The gap steadily grew towards a minute, and by the time the five leaders crested the final climb it became clear that the winner would come be determined from within their group.

Results :
1 Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Corendon-Circus 4:05:54
2 Anthony Turgis (Fra) Direct Energie
3 Bob Jungels (Lux) Deceuninck-QuickStep
4 Lukas Pöstlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
5 Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Lotto Soudal
6 Luke Rowe (GBr) Team Sky 0:00:18
7 Danny van Poppel (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:00:19
8 Yves Lampaert (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep
9 Christophe Laporte (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
10 Heinrich Haussler (Aus) Bahrain-Merida
11 Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Lotto Soudal
12 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) UAE Team Emirates
13 Adrien Petit (Fra) Direct Energie
14 Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek-Segafredo
15 Matej Mohoric (Slo) Bahrain-Merida
16 Ivan Garcia (Spa) Bahrain-Merida
17 Davide Ballerini (Ita) Astana Pro Team
18 Mike Teunissen (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
19 Oliver Naesen (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale
20 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Movistar Team
21 Nils Politt (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin
22 Fernando Gaviria (Col) UAE Team Emirates
23 Jonas Van Genechten (Bel) Vital Concept-B&B Hotel
24 Cees Bol (Ned) Team Sunweb
25 Jack Bauer (NZl) Mitchelton-Scott
26 Loïc Vliegen (Bel) Wanty-Gobert
27 Jasha Sütterlin (Ger) Movistar Team
28 Lilian Calmejane (Fra) Direct Energie 0:00:24
29 Michael Valgren Andersen (Den) Dimension Data
30 Florian Senechal (Fra) Deceuninck-QuickStep
31 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team
32 Christophe Noppe (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
33 Jan Tratnik (Slo) Bahrain-Merida
34 Gijs Van Hoecke (Bel) CCC Team
35 Bryan Coquard (Fra) Vital Concept-B&B Hotel
36 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Dimension Data
37 Sacha Modolo (Ita) EF Education First
38 Benjamin Declercq (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
39 Nathan Van Hooydonck (Bel) CCC Team 0:00:27
40 Frederik Backaert (Bel) Wanty-Gobert
41 Otto Vergaerde (Bel) Corendon-Circus 0:00:31
42 Stefan Küng (Swi) Groupama-FDJ
43 Kenneth Vanbilsen (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
44 Xandro Meurisse (Bel) Wanty-Gobert
45 Amund Grøndahl Jansen (Nor) Team Jumbo-Visma
46 Owain Doull (GBr) Team Sky
47 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Sky
48 Imanol Erviti (Spa) Movistar Team
49 Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg (RSA) Dimension Data
50 Kris Boeckmans (Bel) Vital Concept-B&B Hotel
51 Alberto Bettiol (Ita) EF Education First
52 Marc Hirschi (Swi) Team Sunweb
53 Dylan van Baarle (Ned) Team Sky
54 Christopher Juul Jensen (Den) Mitchelton-Scott
55 Sven Erik Bystrøm (Nor) UAE Team Emirates
56 Stijn Devolder (Bel) Corendon-Circus
57 Gianni Moscon (Ita) Team Sky
58 Damien Gaudin (Fra) Direct Energie 0:00:37
59 Nelson Oliveira (Por) Movistar Team 0:00:39
60 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Direct Energie 0:00:44
61 Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Groupama-FDJ 0:01:00
62 Olivier Le Gac (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 0:01:10
63 Hugo Houle (Can) Astana Pro Team 0:01:15
64 Edward Theuns (Bel) Trek-Segafredo 0:01:29
65 Zhandos Bizhigitov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:01:33
66 Marco Marcato (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:01:36
67 Dries De Bondt (Bel) Corendon-Circus 0:02:28
68 Jens Debusschere (Bel) Katusha-Alpecin 0:02:29
69 Arnaud Demare (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 0:02:47
70 Tom Scully (NZl) EF Education First 0:02:50
71 Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Groupama-FDJ 0:03:29
72 Jonas Koch (Ger) CCC Team
73 Silvan Dillier (Swi) AG2R La Mondiale 0:03:42
74 Guillaume Boivin (Can) Israel Cycling Academy
75 Tom Van Asbroeck (Bel) Israel Cycling Academy
76 Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale
77 Laurens De Vreese (Bel) Astana Pro Team
78 Lasse Norman Hansen (Den) Corendon-Circus
79 Jenthe Biermans (Bel) Katusha-Alpecin
80 Alexandre Pichot (Fra) Direct Energie
81 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Bahrain-Merida
82 Iljo Keisse (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep
83 Taco van der Hoorn (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
84 Szymon Sajnok (Pol) CCC Team
85 Andreas Schillinger (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
86 Lawrence Naesen (Bel) Lotto Soudal
87 Robert Stannard (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
88 Brian van Goethem (Ned) Lotto Soudal
89 Mads Pedersen (Den) Trek-Segafredo
90 Alex Kirsch (Lux) Trek-Segafredo
91 Piet Allegaert (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
92 Asbjørn Kragh Andersen (Den) Team Sunweb
93 Aime De Gendt (Bel) Wanty-Gobert
94 Luka Mezgec (Slo) Mitchelton-Scott
95 Michael Hepburn (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
96 Mitchell Docker (Aus) EF Education First
97 Kamil Gradek (Pol) CCC Team
98 Damien Touze (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
99 Miles Scotson (Aus) Groupama-FDJ
100 Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) Groupama-FDJ 0:03:48
101 Maarten Wynants (Bel) Team Jumbo-Visma
102 Pascal Eenkhoorn (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
103 Kristijan Koren (Slo) Bahrain-Merida
104 Luka Pibernik (Slo) Bahrain-Merida
105 Jimmy Janssens (Bel) Corendon-Circus
106 Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) EF Education First
107 Bert De Backer (Bel) Vital Concept-B&B Hotel 0:06:42
108 Jaime Castrillo (Spa) Movistar Team
109 Juraj Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe
110 Casper Pedersen (Den) Team Sunweb
111 Mihkel Räim (Est) Israel Cycling Academy
112 Conor Dunne (Irl) Israel Cycling Academy
113 Kristoffer Halvorsen (Nor) Team Sky
114 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Dimension Data
115 Koen de Kort (Ned) Trek-Segafredo
116 Luis Mas Bonet (Spa) Movistar Team
117 Daniil Fominykh (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
118 Frederik Frison (Bel) Lotto Soudal
119 Julien Duval (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:09:37
120 Pawel Bernas (Pol) CCC Team
121 Thimo Willems (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:10:29
122 Christoph Pfingsten (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
123 Kenneth Van Rooy (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
124 Julien Morice (Fra) Vital Concept-B&B Hotel
125 Zico Waeytens (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
126 Nico Denz (Ger) AG2R La Mondiale
127 Dennis van Winden (Ned) Israel Cycling Academy
128 Timo Roosen (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
129 Rick Zabel (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin
130 Willem Jakobus Smit (RSA) Katusha-Alpecin
131 Alvaro Hodeg (Col) Deceuninck-QuickStep
132 Julien Vermote (Bel) Dimension Data
133 Kiel Reijnen (USA) Trek-Segafredo
134 Adrien Garel (Fra) Vital Concept-B&B Hotel
135 Pascal Ackermann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
136 Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
137 Emiel Planckaert (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
138 Bagdonas Gediminas (Ltu) AG2R La Mondiale
139 Dorian Godon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
140 Lars Bak (Den) Dimension Data
141 Jimmy Turgis (Fra) Vital Concept-B&B Hotel
142 Jasper Philipsen (Bel) UAE Team Emirates
143 Kasper Asgreen (Den) Deceuninck-QuickStep
144 Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor) UAE Team Emirates
145 Filippo Fortin (Ita) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
146 Oliviero Troia (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
147 Amaury Capiot (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
148 Edoardo Affini (Ita) Mitchelton-Scott
149 Jaco Venter (RSA) Dimension Data
150 Pim Ligthart (Ned) Direct Energie
151 Christopher Lawless (GBr) Team Sky
152 Timothy Dupont (Bel) Wanty-Gobert
153 Pieter Vanspeybrouck (Bel) Wanty-Gobert
DNF Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep
DNF Michael Schär (Swi) CCC Team
DNF Adam Blythe (GBr) Lotto Soudal
DNF Stan Dewulf (Bel) Lotto Soudal
DNF Logan Owen (USA) EF Education First
DNF Taylor Phinney (USA) EF Education First
DNF Ryan Mullen (Irl) Trek-Segafredo
DNF Harry Tanfield (GBr) Katusha-Alpecin
DNF Mads Schmidt Würtz (Den) Katusha-Alpecin
DNF Yevgeniy Gidich (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
DNF Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
DNF Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) Bora-Hansgrohe
DNF Michael Schwarzmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
DNF Callum Scotson (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
DNF Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Sunweb
DNF Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Sunweb
DNF Maximilian Walscheid (Ger) Team Sunweb
DNF Roy Jans (Bel) Corendon-Circus
DNF Ludwig De Winter (Bel) Wanty-Gobert
DNF Bert Van Lerberghe (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
DNF Zakkari Dempster (Aus) Israel Cycling Academy
DNF Roy Goldstein (Isr) Israel Cycling Academy