Tour of Flanders 2012 [FULL RACE]

April 1, 2012

Tour of Flanders 2012 – Brugge – Oudenaarde : 256 km

The 2012 Tour of Flanders is already one of the most talked about editions in the long and distinguished history of the race. Significant changes to the route for this year have caused controversy, with riders and fans reacting with consternation to the removal of the Muur van Geraardsbergen from the parcours. Nevertheless the race will retain its status as one of the most loved and eagerly anticipated of the season and remains Belgium’s premier Monument. The Tour of Flanders traditionally attracts the best riders in the world to the start line, but riders of other nationalities are always fighting the home team here. The race is a national emblem in Belgium and the host country’s riders have won almost seven times more titles here than any other nation. Tom Boonen, who has been in fine early season form, is sure to make a bold bid to continue that dominance, provided he gets to grips with the changes to the course.

Local favourite Tom Boonen (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) won the 2012 Tour of Flanders on Sunday afternoon, holding off Filippo Pozzato (Farnese Vini-Selle Italia) and Alessandro Ballan (BMC) in a three-man sprint to the line to secure his third win in the popular Belgian race. Boonen became the fourth rider in cycling history to win the Tour of Flanders three times.

“I was worried about heading to the finish with those Italians. They know each other well and I feared that they would kill me, but the strong headwind was my ally,” said Boonen. “I had to count on my sprint. I started too early and didn’t have much left but it was enough.”

With his third win in the Tour of Flanders, the Belgian joins Achiel Buysse, Fiorenzo Magnie and Eric Leman as a triple winner of the cycling Monument. “That is fantastic. I never expected that.”

The much-anticipated battle between Boonen and Fabian Cancellara (RadioShack-Nissan) failed to materialise after the Swiss rider crashed out dramatically with 62km to go. Cancellara broke his collarbone.

“I didn’t see it. It’s sad because with Fabian it would’ve been much nicer,” Boonen told Sporza.

Boonen, Pozzato and Ballan were left to provide the finale’s drama in front of fanatical and generous crowds. The trio made a decisive move by pulling clear with 18km left, and the Belgian prevailed in the end, continuing in the brilliant form that he has sustained so far in 2012.

In the final kilometers, the efforts of the three riders resembled a three-up match sprint on a velodrome as they played cat and mouse games toward the finish.

The two Italians who flanked Boonen on the podium were left disappointed, especially Pozzato who felt that he was the strongest man in the race. “I had the impression that Boonen was tired and that I could beat him but in the last five kilometers he proved the opposite. In the sprint he can build on his explosive skills,” Pozzato told Sporza.

Ballan, as the slowest rider of the three in a sprint, tried to get away several times in an effort to repeat his 2007 Tour of Flanders victory. “The finale was tough. On the final ascent of the Paterberg we had a gap on Boonen, and I thought we would head to Oudenaarde with the two of us but he held on,” said Ballan. “On the way to the finish, Tom was super. I couldn’t wait for the sprint but he kept catching me.”

The sprint for fourth place was won by Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) ahead of Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale) and the rest of the large first chase group. “The strongest three were ahead. We had Ballan in front, so it wasn’t up to me to chase. I’m happy with fourth place,” Van Avermaet told Sporza.

Action from the gun

Immediately after leaving Bruges, the breakaway attempts started. On the first wide roads, nobody got away but the altered route through Zerkegem, the town where 1935 Tour de France winner Romain Maes was born 100 years ago, made a difference. After going through Zerkegem’s tiny roads, a group of 15 riders representing 14 teams got away.

The group included high-profile riders like sprinter Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Barracuda), triple Grand Tour stage winner Pablo Lastras Garcia (Movistar) and several breakaway specialists like David Boucher (FDJ-Big Mat), Anders Lund (Saxo Bank), Maarten Tjallingii (Rabobank) and Gert Dockx (Lotto-Belisol). The other names in the group were Manuel Belletti (AG2R La Mondiale), Peio Bilbao (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Sven Vandousselaere (Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator), Baptiste Planckaert (Landbouwkrediet-Euphony), Massimo Graziato (Lampre-ISD), Vladimir Isaichev (Katusha) and Tom Veelers (Argos-Shimano). NetApp was represented by two riders: Daniel Schorn and Andreas Schillinger.

Despite the efforts from the Omega Pharma – Quick Step team on behalf of top favorite Boonen, the 15 leaders gained time on the peloton. Boonen’s men switched the pace up a notch without going full gas and as they approached the first pavé sections near Kruishoutem after 85km of racing, the leaders’ gap was up to nearly six minutes.

The Garmin-Barracuda team moved to the front at the cobbles of the Huisepontweg and Doorn, later joined by the GreenEdge team and others, who brought the gap down to 5:30 as they passed through the finish town Oudenaarde after 100km of racing.

At the third climb of the day, the Molenberg, Cancellara flatted and the peloton split up with six riders setting up a counter-attack. A six-man chase group trailed the lead group by four minutes and included Matthew Hayman (Sky), Tomas Vaitkus (GreenEdge), Lars Boom (Rabobank), Aliaksandr Kyuschinski (Katusha), Alexandre Pichot (Europacar) and Kris Boeckmans (Vacansoleil-DCM). Boonen wouldn’t let them get away and they were caught before they hit the next climb, the Rekelberg.

Due to more accelerations from Hayman, Björn Leukemans, Thor Hushovd, Johan Vansummeren, Stijn Vandenbergh and Daniele Bennati, the gap dropped further to just three minutes as the leaders rode over the Berendries and the Valkenberg. When they started on the first of the loops with the dual ascents of the Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg, the speed went up another notch although there were no specific attacks in the peloton.

The Koppenberg awaited the riders. In front, only nine men survived it, and they finished off the tough cobbled climb with a gap of two minutes on the peloton. At the feed zone after the Koppenberg – 64km from the finish – bad luck struck Cancellara. The 2010 winner and favorite coming into this edition somehow hit the deck and didn’t get back up after he fractured his collarbone in three places.

A large peloton entered Ronse for the first time and powered towards the Kruisberg/Hontond at less than a minute from the leaders. On the Kruisberg, there was an acceleration from Belgian champion Philippe Gilbert (BMC). Several men followed the Belgian champion, but a little later they were caught by the peloton while at about the same time, the leaders were also caught. Only David Boucher managed to sneak away just before the regrouping in front. On the descent towards Kluisbergen, there was a high-speed crash in which Sebastiaan Langeveld (GreenEdge) collided with a startled spectator after he tried to move up in the peloton by taking the bike lane to the far right of the road. It appeared as if Langeveld hurt his collarbone or shoulder and he had to abandon.

At the foot of the Oude Kwaremont, upon starting the second loop, Boucher was also caught, bringing the peloton all together. Vanmarcke led on the first stretches of the Kwaremont until Chavanel accelerated. The pace from the French champion caused damage in the peloton and on the following section towards the Paterberg, he didn’t look back.

A definitive split

About 25 riders survived this selection, although Flecha, Luca Paolini (Katusha) and Vincent Jérôme (Europcar) anticipated the next steep hill at 34km from the finish. In the sharp corner coming into the Paterberg, there was a crash in the main group, taking down men like Vansummeren and hindering outsiders like Matti Breschel and Peter Sagan. The latter recovered soon and bridged back up with the group of leaders featuring Boonen, Niki Terpstra and Chavanel, Pozzato, Ballan, Vanmarcke, Jérôme, Paolini and Maxim Iglinsky (Astana).

Ballan then applied pressure and seemed to ride away easiliy off the front with 18km to go. Not happy with this development, Boonen and Pozzato bridge up to him. This was the racing-winning split.

The tactical games with the three men started in the final kilometers. Ballan launched a few attacks that Boonen closed each time, and when the Italian former world champion went for the last time, Boonen blasted around him toward the finish line. Pozzato tried to charge up and overtake Boonen, but was not strong enough to over take the Belgian favorite, who won his third Tour of Flanders.

Results :
1 Tom Boonen (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 6:04:33
2 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Farnese Vini – Selle Italia
3 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) BMC Racing Team 0:00:01
4 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team 0:00:38
5 Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale
6 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
7 Luca Paolini (Ita) Katusha Team
8 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar
9 Matti Breschel (Den) Rabobank Cycling Team
10 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
11 Grégory Rast (Swi) Radioshack-Nissan
12 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Katusha Team
13 Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
14 Björn Leukemans (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
15 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha Team
16 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
17 Xavier Florencio Cabre (Spa) Katusha Team
18 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team Saxo Bank
19 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling
20 Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Sky Procycling
21 Hayden Roulston (NZl) RadioShack-Nissan
22 Elia Favilli (Ita) Farnese Vini – Selle Italia
23 Maxim Iglinsky (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
24 Tony Gallopin (Fra) RadioShack-Nissan
25 Maarten Wynants (Bel) Rabobank Cycling Team
26 Sébastien Turgot (Fra) Team Europcar
27 Vincent Jerome (Fra) Team Europcar
28 Michael Schär (Swi) BMC Racing Team
29 Marco Marcato (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
30 Heinrich Haussler (Aus) Garmin – Barracuda
31 Jens Keukeleire (Bel) GreenEdge Cycling Team
32 Steve Chainel (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
33 Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
34 Danilo Hondo (Ger) Lampre – ISD
35 Egidijus Juodvalkis (Ltu) Landbouwkrediet
36 Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing Team
37 Leif Hoste (Bel) Accent Jobs – Willems Veranda’s
38 Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Farnese Vini – Selle Italia
39 Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
40 Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
41 Gustav Larsson (Swe) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
42 Bert De Waele (Bel) Landbouwkrediet
43 Francesco Failli (Ita) Farnese Vini – Selle Italia
44 Andrey Amador Bakkazakova (CRc) Movistar Team
45 Oscar Gatto (Ita) Farnese Vini – Selle Italia
46 Dries Devenyns (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
47 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Team Saxo Bank 0:00:48
48 Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) Garmin – Barracuda
49 Johan Van Summeren (Bel) Garmin – Barracuda 0:01:06
50 Sébastien Minard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:01:18
51 Pieter Jacobs (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Mercator 0:03:26
52 George Hincapie (USA) BMC Racing Team
53 Bram Tankink (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
54 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Sky Procycling
55 Thor Hushovd (Nor) BMC Racing Team
56 Davy Commeyne (Bel) Landbouwkrediet
57 Ian Stannard (GBr) Sky Procycling
58 Christian Knees (Ger) Sky Procycling
59 John Degenkolb (Ger) Argos-Shimano
60 Daniel Oss (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
61 Kristof Goddaert (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale 0:04:43
62 Ruben Perez Moreno (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi
63 Andy Cappelle (Bel) Accent Jobs – Willems Veranda’s
64 Jack Bauer (NZl) Garmin – Barracuda
65 Frédéric Guesdon (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
66 Preben Van Hecke (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Mercator
67 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team
68 Manuele Mori (Ita) Lampre – ISD
69 Maxime Vantomme (Bel) Katusha Team
70 Jens Debusschere (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team
71 Jérôme Baugnies (Bel) Team NetApp
72 David Veilleux (Can) Team Europcar
73 Assan Bazayev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
74 Alexandre Pichot (Fra) Team Europcar
75 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team
76 Mickael Delage (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
77 Edward King (USA) Liquigas-Cannondale
78 Imanol Erviti (Spa) Movistar Team
79 Mathew Hayman (Aus) Sky Procycling
80 Wouter Mol (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
81 Dennis Van Winden (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
82 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) RadioShack-Nissan
83 Andreas Klier (Ger) Garmin – Barracuda
84 Tom Stamsnijder (Ned) Argos-Shimano
85 Tomas Vaitkus (Ltu) GreenEdge Cycling Team
86 David Boucher (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
87 Baptiste Plackaert (Bel) Landbouwkrediet
88 Vladimir Isaichev (Rus) Katusha Team 0:15:34
89 Luke Roberts (Aus) Team Saxo Bank
90 Peio Bilbao (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi
91 Aliaksandr Kuschynski (Blr) Katusha Team
92 Gert Dockx (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team
93 Kris Boeckmans (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
94 Daniele Bennati (Ita) RadioShack-Nissan
95 Manuel Belletti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
96 Jacob Rathe (USA) Garmin – Barracuda
97 Staf Scheirlinckx (Bel) Accent Jobs – Willems Veranda’s
98 Pablo Lastras Garcia (Spa) Movistar Team
99 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin – Barracuda
100 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale
101 Jaroslaw Marycz (Pol) Team Saxo Bank
102 Jonas Aaen Jörgensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank
103 Anders Lund (Den) Team Saxo Bank
104 Dominique Rollin (Can) FDJ-Big Mat
DNF Kasper Klostergaard Larsen (Den) Team Saxo Bank
DNF Michael Morkov (Den) Team Saxo Bank
DNF Manuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC Racing Team
DNF Nikolas Maes (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
DNF Gert Steegmans (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
DNF Matteo Trentin (Ita) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
DNF Gaetan Bille (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team
DNF Sander Cordeel (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team
DNF Kenny De Haes (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team
DNF Jonas Vangenechten (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team
DNF Frederik Willems (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team
DNF Jeremy Hunt (GBr) Sky Procycling
DNF Christopher Sutton (Aus) Sky Procycling
DNF Gregor Gazvoda (Slo) AG2R La Mondiale
DNF Romain Lemarchand (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
DNF Steve Houanard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
DNF Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team
DNF Baden Cooke (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team
DNF Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) GreenEdge Cycling Team
DNF Stuart O’grady (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team
DNF Svein Tuft (Can) GreenEdge Cycling Team
DNF Matthew Wilson (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team
DNF Borut Bozic (Slo) Astana Pro Team
DNF Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
DNF Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Astana Pro Team
DNF Valentin Iglinskiy (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
DNF Simone Ponzi (Ita) Astana Pro Team
DNF Pierre Cazaux (Fra) Euskaltel – Euskadi
DNF Ricardo Garcia Ambroa (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi
DNF Miguel Minguez Ayala (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi
DNF Alan Perez Lezaun (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi
DNF Adrian Saez (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi
DNF Pablo Urtasun Perez (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi
DNF William Bonnet (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
DNF Anthony Geslin (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
DNF Alexander Porsev (Rus) Katusha Team
DNF Daniele Righi (Ita) Lampre – ISD
DNF Vitaliy Buts (Ukr) Lampre – ISD
DNF Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre – ISD
DNF Massimo Graziato (Ita) Lampre – ISD
DNF Yuriy Krivtsov (Fra) Lampre – ISD
DNF Davide Vigano (Ita) Lampre – ISD
DNF Mauro Da Dalto (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
DNF Kristijan Koren (Slo) Liquigas-Cannondale
DNF Alan Marangoni (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
DNF Jesus Herrada Lopez (Spa) Movistar Team
DNF Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) Movistar Team
DNF José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Spa) Movistar Team
DNF Francisco José Ventoso Alberdi (Spa) Movistar Team
DNF Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team
DNF Lars Boom (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
DNF Jos Van Emden (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
DNF Thomas Leezer (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
DNF Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
DNF Martijn Maaskant (Ned) Garmin – Barracuda
DNF Fabian Cancellara (Swi) RadioShack-Nissan
DNF Markel Irizar Aranburu (Spa) RadioShack-Nissan
DNF Jesse Sergent (NZl) RadioShack-Nissan
DNF Stijn Devolder (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
DNF Mirko Selvaggi (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
DNF Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
DNF Laurens De Vreese (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Mercator
DNF Eliot Lietaer (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Mercator
DNF Stijn Neirynck (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Mercator
DNF Sven Vandousselaere (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Mercator
DNF Pieter Vanspeybrouck (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Mercator
DNF Jelle Wallays (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Mercator
DNF Frédéric Amorison (Bel) Landbouwkrediet
DNF Koen Barbe (Bel) Landbouwkrediet
DNF Kurt Hovelynck (Bel) Landbouwkrediet
DNF Jonathan Breyne (Bel) Landbouwkrediet
DNF Arnoud Van Groen (Ned) Accent Jobs – Willems Veranda’s
DNF Kevin Van Melsen (Bel) Accent Jobs – Willems Veranda’s
DNF Stefan Van Dijk (Ned) Accent Jobs – Willems Veranda’s
DNF Rob Goris (Bel) Accent Jobs – Willems Veranda’s
DNF James Vanlandschoot (Bel) Accent Jobs – Willems Veranda’s
DNF Luca Ascani (Ita) Farnese Vini – Selle Italia
DNF Pier Paolo De Negri (Ita) Farnese Vini – Selle Italia
DNF Luca Mazzanti (Ita) Farnese Vini – Selle Italia
DNF Roy Curvers (Ned) Argos-Shimano
DNF Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Argos-Shimano
DNF Tom Veelers (Ned) Argos-Shimano
DNF Dominic Klemme (Ger) Argos-Shimano
DNF Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Argos-Shimano
DNF Ronan Van Zandbeek (Ned) Argos-Shimano
DNF Sébastien Chavanel (Fra) Team Europcar
DNF Cyril Gautier (Fra) Team Europcar
DNF Yohann Gene (Fra) Team Europcar
DNF Reto Hollenstein (Swi) Team NetApp
DNF Daniel Schorn (Aut) Team NetApp
DNF Blaz Jarc (Slo) Team NetApp
DNF Andreas Schillinger (Ger) Team NetApp
DNF André Schulze (Ger) Team NetApp
DNF Timon Seubert (Ger) Team NetApp
DNF Michael Schwarzmann (Ger) Team NetApp