Welcome back to another edition of Pro Log. The second Monument of the year took place this past weekend in the shape of the Ronde van Vlaanderen, also known as the Tour of Flanders. The races were won by Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek) in two different ways.
Meanwhile, the Itzulia Basque Country is currently underway, Paul Lapeira (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale) won Stage 2 into Kanbo. Primož Roglič (Bora-Hansgrohe) continues to be the general classification leader after taking the jersey in the opening time-trial (see more below).
Mathieu van der Poel soloes to Ronde van Vlaanderen victory
Following Wout van Aert’s collarbone and rib-breaking crash at Dwars door Vlaanderen, all eyes were fixed on Mathieu van der Poel heading into the Tour of Flanders. He did not disappoint.
Attacking on the Koppenberg while many of his closest rivals were forced to dismount and walk up the slope in slippery conditions, Van der Poel launched into a 45km solo breakaway to reach the finish in Oudenaarde. He celebrated by crossing the line, stepping off his Canyon bike and raising it over his head.
Over a minute behind, the sprint for podium positions was on. Luca Mozzato (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) finished second with Michael Matthews (Jayco-AlUla) third, but a relegation for the Aussie due to an irregular sprint promoted UAE Team Emirates’ Nils Politt to the third spot.
Van der Poel’s record-equalling victory in the race means he joins legends such as Johan Museeuw, Tom Boonen and Fabian Cancellara as the only riders to win the Tour of Flanders three times. Now for Paris-Roubaix…
Elisa Longo Borghini wins three-up sprint at Flanders
Nine years after her first win at the Tour of Flanders, Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek) made it two by winning a three-up sprint to the line. A rejuvenated teammate in Shirin van Anrooij attacked in the final 21km as the chasing group splintered before the final ascent of the Oude Kwaremont.
In the last kilometre, the win was to be decided between the front trio of Borghini, Van Anrooij and Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM). Van Anrooij led out the sprint as Longo Borghini and Niewiadoma battled, the Italian national champion prevailing and Van Anrooij cheering behind.
Lidl-Trek is a team on fire this Classics season.
Marianne Vos notches 250 career victories at Dwars door Vlaanderen
Before Ronde van Vlaanderen, there was the midweek warm-up at Dwars door Vlaanderen and victory in the women’s race was between Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Shirin van Anrooij (Lidl-Trek). It was a close finish, but Vos managed to outsprint her compatriot as she claimed her 250th career victory. What a feat.
It was also Vos’s first win at Dwars door Vlaanderen. It seems surprising that, given her grand total of wins, she could still find a race she hadn’t won in 2024, Paris-Roubaix is next on that list.
During the men’s race, a large crash took down big names in Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike), Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) and Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty). Van Aert broke his collarbone and multiple ribs, ruling him out for the remainder of the Classics season, Pedersen came away with a few nasty scrapes and Girmay continued with no fractures.
Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) made sure the team could celebrate something, however, attacking with 7km to go and soloing to the line for victory. Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X) won the sprint for second place, with Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ) third.
Wrong way for Primož Roglič
𝙃𝙚 𝙬𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙖𝙮 😅
— Eurosport (@eurosport) April 1, 2024
Despite the wrong turn Primoz Roglic still took the provisional lead on stage 1 of the Itzulia Basque Country 🇪🇸#Itzulia2024 pic.twitter.com/ICThcfqbMT
Primož Roglič (Bora-Hansgrohe) won the opening stage 10km individual time-trial at the Itzulia Basque Country on Monday, but it wasn’t all plain sailing. Just 100m from the finish line, the Slovenian took a wrong turn and headed to the right, apparently the same direction as all his recon rides, and lost eight seconds. He was able to rectify his mistake and still top the standings. The next best rider, Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates), finished seven seconds down.
It wasn’t the best start to proceedings for Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep), who crashed a few metres after riding down the start ramp. But he was able to remount and finish fourth overall, 11 seconds down on Roglič.
Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) was forced to withdraw from Itzulia Basque Country after crashing during the time-trial recon. The Brit was taken to hospital but thankfully the team later reported that he suffered no fractures.
See you next week.