Tour of Flanders 2020 [LAST 40 KM]

October 18, 2020

Tour of Flanders 2020 – Antwerpen – Oudenaarde : 243,3 km

As with their other races that have taken place during the ongoing health crisis, Ronde organisers Flanders Classics haven’t announced full details of the race route as part of their strategy to discourage spectators from attending. They have, however, confirmed that the course will be approximately 24 kilometres shorter than last year. The iconic Flanders climbs of Tenbosse and the Muur van Geraardsbergen have been cut from the race after the first ascent of the Oude Kwaremont, while the Valkenberg has been added. Starting in Antwerp, the route heads south-west to Zottegem and, just beyond, reaches the first of 17 climbs, the Katteberg, at the 100-kilometre mark. The first of three ascents of the Oude Kwaremont comes soon after. Over the next 70 kilometres, before the second ascent of the Oude Kwaremont, there are seven climbs and the long cobbled section of Haaghoek, which can be very treacherous, especially in the wet.

In a finish for the ages, the duel that we all wanted to see saw Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) outsprint Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) by the narrowest of margins to win the Tour of Flanders.

The two favourites and long-time rivals were out on their own for the closing 35 kilometres after world champion Julian Alaphilippe (Elegant-QuickStep) crashed out of their three-man break, matching each other over the final climbs. Coming into the final kilometre, van Aert stopped coming through and sat on van der Poel’s wheel. The pair slowed, van der Poel staying close to the right-hand barrier, ensuring that his Belgian opponent would have to jump to the left when he made his move.

Van Aert waited for his moment. With 200 metres to the line, the Jumbo-Visma rider accelerated to the Dutchman’s left, the pair sprinting side by side all the way to the line, van der Poel’s bike throw just giving him the edge. Moments later, Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates) led in the 15-rider group behind to take third place.

“I have no words for this. I am speechless,” said van der Poel. “I wasn’t sure – normally I always feel [who won], but I was so broken in the sprint. All of a sudden the line was there and I had to jump. I looked at Wout’s wheel, but neither of us knew.

“I was looking behind me at Wout, not at the chasers,” the Dutch champion continued. “I knew that the later the sprint was started, the more it was to my advantage. The fact that Wout started late was a sign that he too was tired to death. I caught him perfectly, but he came alongside me. I was afraid I was too late with my jump. I didn’t dare cheer. They told me twice that I had won, but I asked for confirmation ten times.”

Van der Poel, who was wearing race number 51, said that it had been pointed out to him that his father Adrie had been wearing the same number when he won Flanders in 1986.

“It’s incredible. Maybe number 51 is something special, they told me about it, but I didn’t believe it,” he said.

How it unfolded

The pace was intense from the start in Antwerp, several attacks going and being chased down in the opening kilometres. Six riders then managed to break the elastic and go clear: Gregor Mühlberger (Bora-Hansgrohe), Samuele Battistella (NTT Pro Cycling), Danny van Poppel (Circus-Wanty Gobert), Gijs Van Hoecke (CCC Team), Dimitri Peyskens (Bingoal-Wallonie Bruxelles) and Fabio Van Den Bossche (Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise). Cofidis’s Julien Vermote chased behind them for a while but never bridged the gap.

The break’s lead reached a maximum of seven-and-a-half minutes at the halfway point, when the speed at the front of the peloton started to rise considerably. Edvald Boasson Hagen (NTT Pro Cycling) was the first to launch an attack from the bunch approaching the fourth climb of the day, the Eikenberg, with 108km remaining.

After the Norwegian had been reeled in, a small group containing Alexandre Kristoff and Silvan Dillier (AG2R La Mondiale) clipped away off the front of bunch. But Elegant-QuickStep were quick to respond, Florian Sénéchal (Elegant-QuickStep) bringing them back into line as the break’s lead dwindled to less than three minutes with 77km to go.

Crossing the Oude Kwaremont and the Paterberg, the break, now reduced to just four riders, managed to hang on. But its advantage was a mere 10 seconds as they crested the latter, and they were swept up with 50km remaining.

The favourites were very evident at the front now, and Alaphilippe was the first to chance his arm, darting away with teammate Dries Devenyns and Ineos Grenadier Dylan van Baarle. Ag2r duo Romain Bardet and Oliver Naesen and Lotto-Soudal’s John Degenkolb jumped across to them, but the peloton was quick to respond coming towards the climb of the Koppenberg.

Van Baarle and Bardet kept their sortie going on to the Koppenberg, where Anthony Turgis (Total-Direct Energie) joined them, the Frenchman then pushing on alone. Towards the top of the climb, Alaphilippe accelerated across the gap to Turgis, seven riders giving chase, van Aert and van der Poel among them. Once more, though, the peloton responded and it all came back together on the cobbles of Marieborrestraat.

On the next climb, Steenbeekdries, Alaphilippe accelerated again. On the tricky cobbled descent away from it, he was joined by van der Poel. Approaching the Taaienberg, with less than 40km remaining, Van Aert rode up to join the pair.

The trio began to collaborate and establish a useful gap. However, as they were passing an organisation motorbike that was on the right-hand side of the road, disaster struck Alaphilippe. van Aert, at the front of the line, edged by the bike, van der Poel had to swerve to miss it, while Alaphilippe, at the back, hit the motorcyclist with his shoulder, the impact catapulting his bike across the road and sending the Frenchman to the tarmac, where he lay, shouting with pain and anguish.

Despite the loss of the world champion from the front group, van Aert and van der Poel continued to pull away from what remained of the peloton behind. They shared the work going up the Oude Kwaremont for the third time and then up the Paterberg for the second, neither man making a concerted attempt to break clear, both happy to depend on their ability in the sprint. Like the rest of the course, this proved there was almost nothing between them, the margin so tight that only the photo finish could decipher it.

Results :
1 Mathieu Van der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Fenix 5:43:17
2 Wout van Aert (Bel) Team Jumbo-Visma
3 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:08
4 Anthony Turgis (Fra) Total Direct Energie
5 Yves Lampaert (Bel) Elegant-Quickstep
6 Dimitri Claeys (Bel) Cofidis
7 Oliver Naesen (Bel) AG2R la Mondiale
8 Dylan Van Baarle (Ned) Ineos Grenadiers
9 John Degenkolb (Ger) Lotto Soudal
10 Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Team Sunweb
11 Dylan Teuns (Bel) Bahrain McLaren
12 Florian Senechal (Fra) Elegant-Quickstep
13 Kasper Asgreen (Den) Elegant-Quickstep
14 Valentin Madouas (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
15 Xandro Meurisse (Bel) Circus-Wanty Gobert
16 Alberto Bettiol (Ita) EF Pro Cycling
17 Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) EF Pro Cycling 0:00:16
18 Jasper De Buyst (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:02:41
19 Nils Politt (Ger) Israel Start-Up Nation
20 Sven Erik Bystrøm (Nor) UAE Team Emirates
21 Michael Valgren (Den) NTT Pro Cycling
22 Amaury Capiot (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
23 Luka Mezgec (Slo) Mitchelton-Scott
24 Andrea Pasqualon (Ita) Circus – Wanty Gobert
25 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale
26 Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek-Segafredo
27 Jens Keukeleire (Bel) EF Pro Cycling
28 Michael Gogl (Aut) NTT Pro Cycling 0:02:49
29 Arjen Livyns (Bel) Bingoal WB 0:03:05
30 Maximilian Walscheid (Ger) NTT Pro Cycling 0:04:03
31 Piet Allegaert (Bel) Cofidis
32 Tom Van Asbroeck (Bel) Israel Start-Up Nation
33 Joris Nieuwenhuis (Ned) Team Sunweb
34 Otto Vergaerde (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
35 Lawrence Naesen (Bel) AG2R la Mondiale
36 Roger Kluge (Ger) Lotto Soudal
37 Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) Bora-Hansgrohe
38 Tim Declercq (Bel) Elegant-Quickstep
39 Nikias Arndt (Ger) Team Sunweb
40 Rudy Molard (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
41 Frederik Frison (Bel) Lotto Soudal
42 Gijs Van Hoecke (Bel) CCC Team
43 Marcus Burghardt (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
44 Hugo Houle (Can) Astana Pro Team
45 Dries Van Gestel (Bel) Total Direct Energie
46 Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) AG2R la Mondiale
47 Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bahrain McLaren
48 Luke Durbridge (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott 0:04:05
49 Nathan Van Hooydonck (Bel) CCC Team
50 Luke Rowe (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
51 Marco Marcato (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
52 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) NTT Pro Cycling 0:04:08
53 Jonas Rickaert (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
54 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Ineos Grenadiers
55 Marco Haller (Aut) Bahrain McLaren 0:04:16
56 Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Cofidis 0:04:59
57 Dries Devenyns (Bel) Elegant-Quickstep
58 Nils Eekhoff (Ned) Team Sunweb
59 Mads Pedersen (Den) Trek-Segafredo
60 Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) EF Pro Cycling
61 Daniel Oss (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe
62 Matteo Trentin (Ita) CCC Team
63 Damien Touze (Fra) Cofidis
64 Kévin Geniets (Lux) Groupama-FDJ
65 Rui Oliveira (Por) UAE Team Emirates 0:07:26
66 Cyril Barthe (Fra) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept
67 Fabio Van den Bossche (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
68 Eduard Prades Reverter (Spa) Movistar Team
69 Jack Bauer (NZl) Mitchelton-Scott 0:08:26
70 Petr Vakoč (Cze) Alpecin – Fenix
71 Jérémy Lecroq (Fra) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept 0:09:36
72 Reinardt Janse van Rensburg (RSA) NTT Pro Cycling
73 Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Elegant-Quickstep
74 Edward Theuns (Bel) Trek-Segafredo 0:10:30
75 Cedric Beullens (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
76 Alexander Konychev (Ita) Mitchelton-Scott
77 Laurens De Vreese (Bel) Astana Pro Team
78 Milan Menten (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
79 Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) CCC Team
80 Tom Bohli (Swi) UAE Team Emirates
81 Toms Skujins (Lat) Trek-Segafredo
82 Christophe Laporte (Fra) Cofidis
83 Florian Maitre (Fra) Total Direct Energie
84 Michael Schär (Swi) CCC Team
85 Thomas Sprengers (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
86 Rasmus Tiller (Nor) NTT Pro Cycling
87 Davide Martinelli (Ita) Astana Pro Team
88 Luc Wirtgen (Lux) Bingoal Wb
89 Yevgeniy Gidich (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
90 Tom Wirtgen (Lux) Bingoal WB
91 Jonas Rutsch (Ger) EF Pro Cycling
92 Lionel Taminiaux (Bel) Bingoal WB
93 Johan Jacobs (Swi) Movistar Team
94 Geoffrey Soupe (Fra) Total Direct Energie
95 Fabian Lienhard (Swi) Groupama-FDJ
96 Alex Kirsch (Lux) Trek-Segafredo
97 Lukas Pöstlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
98 Maximilian Schachmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
99 Christopher Lawless (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
100 Gregor Mühlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
101 Owain Doull (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
102 Stefan Küng (Swi) Groupama-FDJ
103 Christian Knees (Ger) Ineos Grenadiers
104 Pascal Eenkhoorn (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
105 Alexander Edmondson (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
106 Timo Roosen (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
107 Boy Van Poppel (Ned) Circus-Wanty Gobert
108 Danny Van Poppel (Ned) Circus-Wanty Gobert
109 Jonas Koch (Ger) CCC Team
110 Joel Suter (Swi) Bingoal WB
111 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Total Direct Energie
DNF Ludwig De Winter (Bel) Circus-Wanty Gobert
DNF Gilles De Wilde (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen – Baloise
DNF Norman Vahtra (Est) Israel Start-Up Nation
DNF Guillaume Boivin (Can) Israel Start-Up Nation
DNF Itamar Einhorn (Isr) Israel Start-Up Nation
DNF Hugo Hofstetter (Fra) Israel Start-Up Nation
DNF Dimitri Peyskens (Bel) Bingoal WB
DNF Maurits Lammertink (Ned) Circus-Wanty Gobert
DNF Frederik Backaert (Bel) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept
DNF Oscar Gatto (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe
DNF Amund Grøndahl Jansen (Nor) Team Jumbo-Visma
DNF Fred Wright (GBr) Bahrain McLaren
DNF Bert-Jan Lindeman (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
DNF Maarten Wynants (Bel) Team Jumbo-Visma
DNF Travis McCabe (USA) Israel Start-Up Nation
DNF Thimo Willems (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
DNF Mark Cavendish (GBr) Bahrain McLaren
DNF Bryan Coquard (Fra) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept
DNF Bert De Backer (Bel) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept
DNF Mickael Delage (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
DNF Jens Debusschere (Bel) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept
DNF Julien Vermote (Bel) Cofidis
DNF Attilio Viviani (Ita) Cofidis
DNF Luca Mozzato (Ita) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept
DNF Adrien Petit (Fra) Total Direct Energie
DNF Romain Cardis (Fra) Total Direct Energie
DNF Francisco Jose Ventoso Alberdi (Spa) CCC Team
DNF Taco Van der Hoorn (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
DNF Daniil Fominykh (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
DNF Jake Stewart (GBr) Groupama – Fdj
DNF Stan Dewulf (Bel) Lotto Soudal
DNF Kiel Reijnen (USA) Trek-Segafredo
DNF Alberto Dainese (Ita) Team Sunweb
DNF Søren Kragh Andersen (Den) Team Sunweb
DNF Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor) UAE Team Emirates
DNF Cees Bol (Ned) Team Sunweb
DNF Dries De Bondt (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
DNF Alexander Krieger (Ger) Alpecin-Fenix
DNF Gianni Vermeersch (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
DNF Leonardo Basso (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers
DNF Pieter Vanspeybrouck (Bel) Circus-Wanty Gobert
DNF Stefan Bissegger (Swi) Ef Pro Cycling
DNF Tom Scully (NZl) EF Pro Cycling
DNF Chun kai Feng (Tpe) Bahrain McLaren
DNF Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal
DNF Julien Duval (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale
DNF Ryan Mullen (Irl) Trek-Segafredo
DNF Christopher Juul Jensen (Den) Mitchelton-Scott
DNF Artyom Zakharov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
DNF Alexis Gougeard (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale
DNF Kaden Groves (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
DNF Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Elegant-Quickstep
DNF Juan Diego Alba Bolivar (Col) Movistar Team
DNF Luka Pibernik (Slo) Bahrain McLaren
DNF Luis Guillermo Mas Bonet (Spa) Movistar Team
DNF Sebastian Mora Vedri (Spa) Movistar Team
DNF Silvan Dillier (Swi) AG2R la Mondiale
DNF Florian Vermeersch (Bel) Lotto Soudal
DNF Samuele Battistella (Ita) NTT Pro Cycling
DNF Iñigo Elosegui Momeñe (Spa) Movistar Team
DNS Kenny Molly (Bel) Bingoal WB