Tour of Flanders 2023

2023 - 4 - 3

Post cover — Image courtesy of "ABC News"

Tadej Pogačar wins first Tour of Flanders with devastating attacks on ... (ABC News)

Slovenian rider Tadej Pogačar solos to Tour of Flanders victory ahead of two-time winner Mathieu van der Poel, to claim his third monument victory.

Polish rider for Bahrain Victorious, Filip Maciejuk, caused the biggest pile up though, after he was caught wide of the peloton. Maciejuk was subsequently disqualified from the race and issued an apology on twitter in which he described his move as "a big error" in judgement. With the paved area of the road coming to an end, he was forced through the grass, where a puddle of water careered his bike back into the middle of the road, and into the peloton at full pace. "I think he was unbeatable today," van der Poel said of Pogačar, who added that it was probably his best ever performance in "the Ronde" but he just didn't have enough to go with his younger rival. Only two men have ever won the Tour de France and the one-day Tour of Flanders: French legend Louison Bobet in 1955 and Belgian Eddy Merckx, who won his second Tour of Flanders in 1975. "I knew that it was going to be tough but it was the only way to go to the finish."

Tour of Flanders: Tadej Pogacar electrifies fast race for victory (Cyclingnews.com)

The race appeared to have escaped the big three of Pogačar, Van der Poel and Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) after a group of 10 riders opened a 3-muinute gap after ...

With Pogačar and Van Aert both represented out in front, the onus was initially on Van der Poel to marshal a chase, even though he had already lost a sizeable part of his teammates following their tough start. But he had the speed to hold off the tired chasers. On the following Wolvenberg, with 114km still to race, Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) went on the attack in a bid to outflank the Big Three, drawing an interesting group with him. The effort did nothing to knock the Big Three off their stride, but the ensuing split did condemn Van der Poel and Alaphilippe to another stint of chasing. By the time Küng et al caught the break on Berg Ten Houte with 77kmkm to go, they had two minutes in hand over a peloton living an uneasy truce ahead of the grand finale. Shortly afterwards, the commissaires announced the disqualification of Maciejuk, but it was scant consolation for Turner, Sagan and Wellens, who were forced to abandon the race. Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ), third a year ago, was forced to abandon due to illness, while a crash in the peloton forced another split, with Pogačar now forced to chase back on. This time out, the most raucous cheers on the Grote Markt were for the Big Three of Wout van Aert, Tadej Pogačar and defending champion Mathieu van der Poel. Then it’s pure power to the top and it’s long. “I knew I had to go solo on the last time up the Kwaremont. The Slovenian time trialed to the finish, extending his lead into a headwind. However Pogačar inspired a comeback and determined chase and then surged past last attacker Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) on the final time up the Oude Kwaremont.

Tadej Pogacar wins 2023 Tour of Flanders after late attack on Oude ... (Olympics)

The Slovenian becomes the third man to complete Tour de France-Tour of Flanders double, and just the second racer after legendary Eddy Merckx to win three ...

Results and Highlights from the Tour of Flanders (Bicycling)

Tadej Pogačar won the men's race at the Tour of Flanders in a thrilling race between the greats of cycling.

After another crash for the peloton, though, the SD Worx team started making moves towards the front of the race in order to protect their riders and start to lead the race. Meanwhile, SD Worx, Trek Segafredo and UAE all sent riders up the road to chase the leaders. With 55 kilometers to go, attacks began to bring the big three—Van der Poel, Van Aert or Pogačar—back to the front of the race. Ahead of them, the lead group of 11 worked hard to maintain their lead on the three superpowers of cycling, with Neilson Powless, one of the few Americans in the race, in the mix in the lead group. As usual, with Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) and Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) in the mix, those were the riders to watch, but there were quite a few other contenders on the start line. But similar to the men’s race, a big crash as riders came into Oudenaarde took out quite a few riders in the main peloton. By 77 kilometers to go, the chase group made contact with the breakaway, creating a 19-rider strong lead group, nearly two minutes ahead of the peloton containing many of the race favorites. Meanwhile, the crashes allowed a group of eight to continue to grow their advantage in a breakaway. At 70 kilometers into the race, a crash took out several riders and split the newly-reformed peloton—but that wouldn’t be the only crash of the day. At 140 kilometers to go, a huge crash in the peloton took out many riders including Peter Sagan—racing his last Tour of Flanders before his upcoming retirement—and Tim Wellens. At 273.4 kilometers with six cobble segments and 19 climbs, the men’s Tour of Flanders—the second Monument race of the season—runs from Brugge to Oudenaarde in Belgium. The race was marred by many crashes, and the racing was some of the most exciting we’ve seen all season.

Tadej Pogacar topples Mathieu van der Poel in Tour of Flanders ... (Eurosport.com)

After being outsprinted in 2022, Pogacar looked to win the race on the cobbled climbs as he first distanced Wout van Aert, and then Van der Poel.

While Pogacar will sit out Easter Sunday’s Paris-Roubaix, the likes of Van der Poel, Van Aert and Pedersen will do battle again over the cobblestones of Northern France in the Hell of the North next weekend. It was on this same climb that Van der Poel put in a powerful unseated surge to snap Van Aert’s elastic and push Pogacar to the extreme of his limits. His focus will now switch to the Ardennes ahead of his bid to win a third Tour de France in July. But Pogacar used his supreme time trialling ability to hold the Dutchman at bay and ensure there was no repeat scenario of last year’s race on the home straight. After sitting up over the summit, he was joined by the in-form Jumbo-Visma duo of Van Aert and Christophe Laporte, as well as Van der Poel and Britain’s Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers). Having dropped Van der Poel, he picked off the other escapees and then swept past Pedersen to open up a small but telling gap over the summit. They were later joined by Benoit Cosnefroy (Ag2R-Citroen) and Matteo Jordenson (Movistar) after the duo kicked clear on the climb of Berendries. Maciejuk promptly took to social media to apologise for causing the high-speed crash, which resulted in scores of riders hitting the deck and notably ended the race of the Belgian Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates). While the 23-year-old was able to stay up on two wheels, dozens of riders were not so lucky as carnage ensued in his wake. Denmark’s Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) held off a late surge from Belgium’s Van Aert to secure the final spot on the podium after a strong chase group came home in Oudenaarde over a minute behind. The 107th edition was also the fastest with Pogacar coming home to complete the 273.4km course in an whopping average speed of 44.1kmph. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) wrote the next scintillating chapter in his illustrious career with a remarkable solo victory in the fastest Tour of Flanders ever raced.

Tadej Pogacar Adds To Legacy By Winning 2023 Tour Of Flanders ... (FloBikes)

Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar won the Tour of Flanders on Sunday with a searing solo attack in the final 20 kilometers of the 274-kilometer one-day race.

Apr 2, 2023 "I hope all those involved are in good health and safe. "I almost cracked on the last climb, but it was the only way to go," he said referring to his great rival Van der Poel being a stronger sprinter in a two-up finish.