Tour of Flanders 2021 [FULL RACE]

April 4, 2021

Tour of Flanders 2021 – Antwerp – Oudenaarde : 254,3 km

The first Sunday in April is fast approaching and that can only mean one thing folks, it’s Flanders time! The last few weeks have all been building up to this – the grand Flandrian finale and the biggest Belgian Classic of the year. The Tour of Flanders is the second of pro cycling’s five monuments and – for many of us one-day racing fans – the pinnacle of the WorldTour season. This is one of the few races on the calendar that represents bike racing in its purest and simplest form: one day, one chance, one winner. Several riders have staked their claim on the Flandrian crown over the last couple of weeks, while others have played down their chances, eager to fly under the radar and avoid the scathing eyes of both the media and their main rivals. Just like last year, the organisers of the Tour of Flanders have kept the route for the 2021 edition under wraps in an effort to discourage fans from flocking to the roadside. We can speculate however that the riders will be faced with a very similar course to last year’s, with all of the usual climbs and cobblestone sectors expected to make an appearance.

Kasper Asgreen (Elegant-QuickStep) took a sensational win in the Tour of Flanders to beat defending champion Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) in a two-man sprint.

The pair were the strongest riders in the race and dropped their remaining opponents on the final ascent of the Oude Kwaremont before setting up a sprint finish.

Asgreen was expected to attack in the closing stages, with Van der Poel the favourite for the sprint, but even though the Dutch rider started a long sprint he was forced to sit up with 50m to go as Asgreen took the biggest win of his career.

Greg van Avermaet won the sprint for third.

“I felt good in the last kilometres still so I decided to try and trust my sprint. Going into the last kilometre I got Mathieu on the front and I heard we still had more than 30 seconds so I decided to stay in the wheel, so I could decide when to go. It was a really hard race. We were both on the limit. It was a question of the margins at the end,” said Asgreen.

“It was the plan to start to jumping after second time Kwaremont and we did. We rode a perfect race all day. The guys were incredible – a huge thanks to them. A huge thanks to Tom [Steels] and Wilfried [Peeters] in the car. They prepared this race so well and we know every single metre of the course. It’s just an incredible team to be a part of.”

Van der Poel and Asgreen went clear with 27km to go in the race when the Dane attacked at the top of the Kruisberg. They were joined by Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) with the trio establishing a 20-second lead over a group that contained Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quickstep), Marco Haller (Bahrain Victorious) and Anthony Turgis (Total Direct Energie).

The three leaders went into the penultimate climb of the Oude Kwaremont with their advantage intact but, as the road rose up, Van der Poel stamped on the pedals. Van Aert was immediately dropped, while Asgreen had to close the gap on the short descent. The pair climbed the final climb of the Paterberg side by side, while Van Aert was eventually caught by the chase group 10km from the finish.

In the run-in to the line, Asgreen and Van der Poel traded turns while the chase group fractured several times as riders attacked each other.

Van Avermaet and Jasper Stuyven jumped clear in the final stages with the Olympic road champion taking his fourth podium place but it was Asgreen who claimed the spoils and became Denmark’s first Flanders winner since Rolf Sorensen in 1997.

The Elegant-QuickStep rider was in every major move in the race and attacked several times alongside Van der Poel before a major break of six formed on the Taaienberg. Julian Alaphilippe attacked from that move on the Kruisberg and neatly set up Asgreen, who was quickly joined by Van Aert and Van der Poel. Despite going up against last year’s top two finishers the Dane kept his cool and claimed a memorable victory.

How it unfolded

The early break formed after just a handful of kilometers with a group of five merging with another two riders to create a move that included Stefan Bissegger (EF Education-Nippo), Mathias Norsgaard (Movistar), Jelle Wallays (Cofidis), Fabio Van Den Bossche (Sport Vlaanderen Baloise), Mathijs Paasschens (Bingoal WB), Hugo Houle (Astana-Premier Tech), and Nico Denz (Team DSM). The leading seven established a healthy advantage almost immediately but there was an altercation back in the peloton as tempers flared.

Yevgeniy Fedorov (Astana-Premier Tech) launched a tentative attack with 240km to go but the Astana rider was quickly marked by Otto Vergaerde (Alpecin Fenix). Fedorov had no patience for being followed and jumped on his brakes with the Alpecin rider glued to his wheel. Vergaerde’s reaction was to ride alongside Fedorov and shoulder barge him, and while neither rider came down in the incident, the UCI officials took swift action and expelled both riders from the race.

The breakaway, unaware of the ruckus that took place behind them, quickly built up a sizeable lead with the seven out front establishing an 11-minute lead by the time they took on the Kwaremont for the first time with around 140km to go.

Back in the bunch, UAE Team Emirates began to set the pace ahead of the first major climb before Jumbo-Visma and Bahrain Victorious took control on the Kortekeer with the gap to the break rapidly dropping below nine minutes.

On the Eikenberg the gap was down to eight minutes with several riders including Nils Politt, Marco Haller, Michael Schar and Marcus Burghardt all experiencing mechanicals in quick succession while Tim Declercq moved to the front as he and his teammates began to take control over the top of the climb.

The Elegant-QuickStep team put the hammer down on the Molenberg with 101km to go but on the Berendries it was Kevin Geniets (Groupama-FDJ) who stormed clear and was quickly joined by Davide Ballerini (Elegant-QuickStep), Edvald Boasson Hagen (Total Direct Energie), Edward Theuns (Trek-Segafredo), Nathan van Hooydonck (Jumbo-Visma), Luke Rowe (Ineos Grenadiers), Joris Nieuwenhuis (Team DSM), Bryan Coquard (B&B Hotels), Boy van Poppel (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert), Oscar Riesebeek (Alpecin-Fenix) and Stan Dewulf (AG2R-Citroën). This prompted a reaction from the peloton and within just a few kilometres the counter-attack was brought back.

Heading into the final 80km the breakaway held an advantage of 3:10 over the peloton. Søren Kragh Andersen (DSM) skipped clear on the Kanarieberg but Bora-Hansgrohe and Jumbo-Visma marked the move. With 66km to go a crash took down or held up Oliver Naesen, Michael Matthews, Alexander Kristoff, Kasper Asgreen and Julian Alaphilippe, with the incident causing a huge split in the field. Alpecin-Fenix lost two riders in the crash but there was a general regrouping before a frantic sprint into the base of the Oude Kwaremont. The pace and panic caused another fall just before the climb with Owain Doull and Nieuwenhuis among the fallers with the latter forced to abandon.

Heading onto the climb, the breakaway held a gap of 1:36 with Bissegger kicking clear of his fading companions. Stefen Küng took a fall on the Oude Kwaremont itself after colliding with another rider but the rest of the main contenders held firm before Elegant-QuickStep accelerated with Yves Lampaert. The move was marked by Tim Wellens and Alaphilippe but at the crest of the Kwaremont, Van der Poel caught the move and then accelerated with only Asgreen able to keep pace with 54km to go. It was Van Aert who closed the gap singlehandedly on the descent with a group of fewer than 25 riders still in contention.

Asgreen accelerated once gain on the Paterberg and once more only Van der Poel could follow with Van Aert once more forced to bring his two rivals back. Just as the move was caught Wellens and Tom Pidcock accelerated with Haller, Senechal and Turgis making a powerful group of four before Alaphilippe and Laporte joined forces with those riders and the remnants of the early break, minus Bissegger, who had 46 seconds with 46km to go.

Onto the Koppenberg and Alaphilippe set the pace for the second group, well aware that he had Van Aert and Van der Poel on the back foot. At the top of the ascent, the world champion had made contact with Bissegger, while pockets of riders were split all over the road. Van der Poel brought a group of riders across that included Pidcock, Van Aert, Haller, Laporte, Turgis, and Wellens. Caught behind and in a fourth group back were Kristoff, and Peter Sagan.

Haller accelerated on the Steenbeekdries while the Alaphilippe group was caught by a group that included Trentin, Van Avermaet, and Asgreen. Haller started the Taaienberg with 17 seconds of a lead but once more Asgreen and Van der Poel accelerated. This time Van Aert was onto them instantly, with Alaphilippe making the juncture with 37km to go and Haller swallowed up to make a break of five. Dylan Teuns added to Bahrain’s firepower on the descent with Jasper Stuyven, Pidcock and Van Avermaet forced to chase.

The six leaders – Alaphilippe, Van Aert, Van der Poel, Asgreen, Haller and Teuns – hit the Kruisberg with just a 12-second lead but the world champion set a relentless pace before attacking at the top. Van Aert was quick to respond as Haller began to struggle and Turgis bridged across to make it seven at the front with 28km to go and the gap holding at 15 seconds. Trentin suffered a rear wheel puncture that effectively ended his challenge.

Turgis and Haller accelerated but it was Asgreen’s powerful counter-attack that pulled Van Aert and Van der Poel away with 27km to go, leaving Bahrain and Turgis to chase while Alaphilippe sat on.

Results :
1 Kasper Asgreen (Den) Deceuninck-QuickStep 6:02:12
2 Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Fenix
3 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) AG2R Citroën Team 0:00:32
4 Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek-Segafredo 0:00:33
5 Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) Israel Start-up Nation 0:00:47
6 Wout Van Aert (Bel) Jumbo-Visma
7 Gianni Vermeersch (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
8 Anthony Turgis (Fra) Total Direct Energie
9 Florian Senechal (Fra) Deceuninck-QuickStep
10 Dylan van Baarle (Ned) Ineos Grenadiers
11 Christophe Laporte (Fra) Cofidis
12 Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Team DSM 0:00:49
13 Dimitri Claeys (Bel) Team Qhubeka Assos 0:02:15
14 Marcus Burghardt (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
15 Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe
16 Danny van Poppel (Ned) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
17 Yves Lampaert (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep
18 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) UAE Team Emirates
19 Tom Van Asbroeck (Bel) Israel Start-up Nation
20 Heinrich Haussler (Aus) Bahrain Victorious
21 Michael Matthews (Aus) Team BikeExchange
22 Nils Politt (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
23 Ivan Garcia Cortina (Spa) Movistar Team
24 Hugo Hofstetter (Fra) Israel Start-up Nation
25 Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal
26 Jenthe Biermans (Bel) Israel Start-up Nation
27 Maximilian Walscheid (Ger) Team Qhubeka Assos
28 Alberto Bettiol (Ita) EF Education-Nippo
29 Clément Russo (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic
30 John Degenkolb (Ger) Lotto Soudal
31 Arjen Livyns (Bel) Bingoal WB
32 Dries Van Gestel (Bel) Total Direct Energie
33 Oliver Naesen (Bel) AG2R Citroën Team
34 Aimé De Gendt (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
35 Dylan Teuns (Bel) Bahrain Victorious
36 Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic 0:02:20
37 Sven Erik Bystrøm (Nor) UAE Team Emirates
38 Victor Campenaerts (Bel) Team Qhubeka Assos
39 Valentin Madouas (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
40 Marco Haller (Aut) Bahrain Victorious 0:02:24
41 Thomas Pidcock (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers 0:02:35
42 Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Deceuninck-QuickStep
43 Michael Gogl (Aut) Team Qhubeka Assos 0:02:52
44 Stefan Küng (Swi) Groupama-FDJ 0:03:19
45 Mathias Norsgaard (Den) Movistar Team
46 Cyril Lemoine (Fra) B&B Hotels p/b KTM
47 Cedric Beullens (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:04:00
48 Cyril Barthe (Fra) B&B Hotels p/b KTM
49 Dries De Bondt (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
50 Stan Dewulf (Bel) AG2R Citroën Team
51 Robert Stannard (Aus) Team BikeExchange
52 Kévin Geniets (Lux) Groupama-FDJ
53 Damien Touze (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team
54 Ethan Hayter (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
55 Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bahrain Victorious
56 Rui Oliveira (Por) UAE Team Emirates
57 Matteo Trentin (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:09:00
58 Søren Kragh Andersen (Den) Team DSM
59 Edward Theuns (Bel) Trek-Segafredo
60 Thimo Willems (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
61 Piet Allegaert (Bel) Cofidis
62 Nathan Van Hooydonck (Bel) Jumbo-Visma
63 Nico Denz (Ger) Team DSM
64 Ryan Gibbons (RSA) UAE Team Emirates
65 Olivier Le Gac (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
66 Juri Hollmann (Ger) Movistar Team
67 Gonzalo Serrano Rodriguez (Spa) Movistar Team
68 Jelle Wallays (Bel) Cofidis
69 Luc Wirtgen (Lux) Bingoal WB
70 Benjamin Perry (Can) Astana-Premier Tech
71 Mathijs Paasschens (Ned) Bingoal WB
72 Michal Golas (Pol) Ineos Grenadiers
73 Connor Swift (GBr) Team Arkea-Samsic
74 Boy van Poppel (Ned) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
75 Bert Van Lerberghe (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep
76 Lukasz Wisniowski (Pol) Team Qhubeka Assos
77 Matis Louvel (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic
78 Johan Jacobs (Swi) Movistar Team
79 Hugo Houle (Can) Astana-Premier Tech
80 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Bingoal WB
81 Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech
82 Jack Bauer (NZl) Team BikeExchange
83 Luis Mas Bonet (Spa) Movistar Team
84 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Total Direct Energie
85 Loïc Vliegen (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
86 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Total Direct Energie
87 Luke Durbridge (Aus) Team BikeExchange
88 Daniel Oss (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe
89 Stefan Bissegger (Swi) EF Education-Nippo
90 Jonas Rickaert (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
91 Artyom Zakharov (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech 0:13:00
92 Maarten Wynants (Bel) Jumbo-Visma
93 David Dekker (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
94 Pascal Eenkhoorn (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
95 Bert De Backer (Bel) B&B Hotels p/b KTM
96 Koen de Kort (Ned) Trek-Segafredo
97 Timo Roosen (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
98 Guillaume Boivin (Can) Israel Start-up Nation
99 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Bahrain Victorious
100 Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Groupama-FDJ
101 Taco van der Hoorn (Ned) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
102 Frederik Backaert (Bel) B&B Hotels p/b KTM
103 Christophe Noppe (Bel) Team Arkea-Samsic
104 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe
105 Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor) UAE Team Emirates
106 Wesley Kreder (Ned) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
107 Daniel McLay (GBr) Team Arkea-Samsic
108 Pieter Vanspeybrouck (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
109 Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) EF Education-Nippo
110 Fabio Van Den Bossche (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
111 André Carvalho (Por) Cofidis
112 Fred Wright (GBr) Bahrain Victorious
113 Damien Gaudin (Fra) Total Direct Energie
DNF Jordi Warlop (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
DNF Kiel Reijnen (USA) Trek-Segafredo
DNF Ruben Apers (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
DNF Quinn Simmons (USA) Trek-Segafredo
DNF Mads Pedersen (Den) Trek-Segafredo
DNF Ryan Mullen (Irl) Trek-Segafredo
DNF Geoffrey Soupe (Fra) Total Direct Energie
DNF Arne Marit (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
DNF Gijs Van Hoecke (Bel) AG2R Citroën Team
DNF Tosh Van Der Sande (Bel) Lotto Soudal
DNF Roger Kluge (Ger) Lotto Soudal
DNF Davide Ballerini (Ita) Deceuninck-QuickStep
DNF Silvan Dillier (Swi) Alpecin-Fenix
DNF Tim Declercq (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep
DNF Florian Vermeersch (Bel) Lotto Soudal
DNF Brent Van Moer (Bel) Lotto Soudal
DNF Lawrence Naesen (Bel) AG2R Citroën Team
DNF Frederik Frison (Bel) Lotto Soudal
DNF Adrien Petit (Fra) Total Direct Energie
DNF Oscar Riesebeek (Ned) Alpecin-Fenix
DNF Edoardo Affini (Ita) Jumbo-Visma
DNF Benjamin Declercq (Bel) Team Arkea-Samsic
DNF Antoine Duchesne (Can) Groupama-FDJ
DNF Imanol Erviti (Spa) Movistar Team
DNF Jens Keukeleire (Bel) EF Education-Nippo
DNF Amund Grøndahl Jansen (Nor) Team BikeExchange
DNF Luka Mezgec (Slo) Team BikeExchange
DNF Mikkel Bjerg (Den) UAE Team Emirates
DNF Luke Rowe (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
DNF Lindsay De Vylder (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
DNF Leonardo Basso (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers
DNF Nikias Arndt (Ger) Team DSM
DNF Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Team Qhubeka Assos
DNF Emil Vinjebo (Den) Team Qhubeka Assos
DNF Jonathan Milan (Ita) Bahrain Victorious
DNF Kenneth Vanbilsen (Bel) Cofidis
DNF Tom Paquot (Bel) Bingoal WB
DNF Yevgeniy Gidich (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech
DNF Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) Cofidis
DNF Owain Doull (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
DNF Tom Scully (NZl) EF Education-Nippo
DNF Lukas Pöstlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
DNF Patrick Gamper (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
DNF Tom Wirtgen (Lux) Bingoal WB
DNF Michael Valgren (Den) EF Education-Nippo
DNF Nikita Stalnov (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech
DNF Alex Edmondson (Aus) Team BikeExchange
DNF Tom Bohli (Swi) Cofidis
DNF Jasha Sütterlin (Ger) Team DSM
DNF Timothy Dupont (Bel) Bingoal WB
DNF Jérémy Lecroq (Fra) B&B Hotels p/b KTM
DNF Jens Debusschere (Bel) B&B Hotels p/b KTM
DNF Reto Hollenstein (Swi) Israel Start-up Nation
DNF Alexis Renard (Fra) Israel Start-up Nation
DNF Bryan Coquard (Fra) B&B Hotels p/b KTM
DNF Nils Eekhoff (Ned) Team DSM
DNF Joris Nieuwenhuis (Ned) Team DSM
DNF Jonas Rutsch (Ger) EF Education-Nippo
DSQ Yevgeniy Fedorov (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech
DSQ Michael Schär (Swi) AG2R Citroën Team
DSQ Otto Vergaerde (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix