Quick Step almost too strong, dominating the race by numbers.
Zdenek Stybar had some misfortune with two punctures, but with that team to back him up, not even “The Sagan” had the power to outsmart him.
Congratz
@ Batista - Thanks, I was super happy to get the win, distancing the favourites paid off, or else I think Stybi wouldve been caught.
@ Freitas - Thanks
@ baseball - Thank you, I think doing them for the more important races is good. A race like this deserves a more detailed report for sure.
@ Tamijo - Yeah, we really did dominate the race, and I think RVV in PCM the AI never expect anything to happen until the final 60km, so if you pace early there can be huge gaps. I may try a different strategy next season, just to keep things interesting...
After making a late attack, Evenepoel was allowed to get a gap of 45 seconds on the descent and just held off the bunch to take the opening stage!
1
Remco Evenepoel
Deceuninck - Quick Step
+00:00
2
Alejandro Valverde
Movistar Team
+00:00
3
Vincenzo Nibali
Team Bahrain Merida
+00:00
4
Daniel Martin
UAE - Team Emirates
+00:00
5
Tim Wellens
Trek - Segafredo
+00:00
6
Enric Mas
Deceuninck - Quick Step
+00:00
7
Jonathan Castroviejo
Team Ineos
+00:00
8
Michael Matthews
Trek - Segafredo
+00:00
9
Sean Bennett
EF Education First Pro Cycling Team
+00:00
10
Chris Froome
Team Ineos
+00:00
Stage 2
Evenepoel wearing the leaders jersey, his first of many
One wasnt enough, Evenepoel takes stage 2 as well
After the last climb, Remco tried to set a high pace to discourage any attacks and actually got away again, so he kept his speed up knowing he would have no shot from a bunch sprint, and makes it 2/2 so far, in a WT race.
1
Remco Evenepoel
Deceuninck - Quick Step
+00:00
2
Vincenzo Nibali
Team Bahrain Merida
+00:00
3
Alejandro Valverde
Movistar Team
+00:00
4
Sam Oomen
Team Sunweb
+00:00
5
Chris Froome
Team Ineos
+00:00
6
Michael Woods
EF Education First Pro Cycling Team
+00:00
7
Ion Izagirre
Astana Pro Team
+00:00
8
Tim Wellens
Trek - Segafredo
+00:00
9
Michael Matthews
Trek - Segafredo
+00:00
10
Daniel Martin
UAE - Team Emirates
+00:00
Stage 3
Matthews takes one for the sprinters on stage 3
1
Michael Matthews
Trek - Segafredo
+00:00
2
Caleb Ewan
Lotto - Soudal
+00:00
3
Julian Alaphilippe
Deceuninck - Quick Step
+00:00
4
Remco Evenepoel
Deceuninck - Quick Step
+00:00
5
Daniel Martin
UAE - Team Emirates
+00:00
6
Mikel Landa
Movistar Team
+00:00
7
Richie Porte
Trek - Segafredo
+00:00
8
Michael Woods
EF Education First Pro Cycling Team
+00:00
9
Alejandro Valverde
Movistar Team
+00:00
10
Chris Froome
Team Ineos
+00:00
Stage 4 ITT
Jungels first opportunity to show off his Rainbow stripes
1
Rohan Dennis
Team Bahrain Merida
+00:00
2
Tom Dumoulin
Team Sunweb
+00:07
3
Bob Jungels
Deceuninck - Quick Step
+00:28
4
Chris Froome
Team Ineos
+00:29
5
Vincenzo Nibali
Team Bahrain Merida
+00:41
6
Jonathan Castroviejo
Team Ineos
+00:43
7
Ion Izagirre
Astana Pro Team
+00:51
8
Mads Würtz Schmidt
Team Katusha - Alpecin
+00:53
9
Marc Soler
Movistar Team
+00:54
10
Egan Bernal
Team Ineos
+00:54
Stage 5
GC ranking at the start of Stage 5
Nibali celebrates his stage 5 win
After the TT, Evenepoel had a poor stage 5, and fell down the GC ranking, but Jungels and Alaphilippe remain the leaders, heading into the final stage.
1
Vincenzo Nibali
Team Bahrain Merida
+00:00
2
Julian Alaphilippe
Deceuninck - Quick Step
+00:00
3
Ion Izagirre
Astana Pro Team
+00:00
4
Tom Dumoulin
Team Sunweb
+00:00
5
Daniel Martin
UAE - Team Emirates
+00:00
6
Davide Formolo
BORA - hansgrohe
+00:00
7
Tim Wellens
Trek - Segafredo
+00:00
8
Jesús Herrada
CCC Team
+00:00
9
Sam Oomen
Team Sunweb
+00:00
10
Chris Froome
Team Ineos
+00:00
Stage 6
Dennis hangs on to his GC lead on the final stage, with Formolo taking the stage win
Tamijo wrote:
Remco Evenepoel - what a race for the young man.
Yeah, he's been in great form so far this year, it will be interesting to see how he develops, but he should hopefully start improving after some good results (atleast I think results help)
Its almost time for the Hell of the North, and maybe the toughest one day race in cycling, with numerous cobble sectors, only the strongest will survive.
Startlist
Spoiler
Yannick Martinez
AG2R La Mondiale
Julien Duval
AG2R La Mondiale
Stijn Vandenbergh
AG2R La Mondiale
Quentin Jauregui
AG2R La Mondiale
Oliver Naesen
AG2R La Mondiale
Yannick Salmon
AG2R La Mondiale
Gediminas Bagdonas
AG2R La Mondiale
Matteo Spreafico
Androni - Sidermec - Bottecchia
Manuel Belletti
Androni - Sidermec - Bottecchia
Andrea Vendrame
Androni - Sidermec - Bottecchia
Nicola Gaffurini
Androni - Sidermec - Bottecchia
Francesco Gavazzi
Androni - Sidermec - Bottecchia
Miguel Eduardo Florez
Androni - Sidermec - Bottecchia
Laurens De Vreese
Astana Pro Team
Yevgeniy Gidich
Astana Pro Team
Daniil Fominykh
Astana Pro Team
Magnus Cort Nielsen
Astana Pro Team
Alexey Lutsenko
Astana Pro Team
Anthony Roux
Astana Pro Team
Jonas Gregaard
Astana Pro Team
Peter Sagan
BORA - hansgrohe
Erik Baska
BORA - hansgrohe
Maciej Bodnar
BORA - hansgrohe
Peter Kennaugh
BORA - hansgrohe
Rüdiger Selig
BORA - hansgrohe
Lukas Pöstlberger
BORA - hansgrohe
Laurens Ten Dam
CCC Team
Pawel Cieslik
CCC Team
Greg Van Avermaet
CCC Team
Filippo Ganna
CCC Team
Guillaume Van Keirsbulck
CCC Team
Martin Toft Madsen
CCC Team
Nathan Van Hooydonck
CCC Team
Robin Stenuit
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
Cyril Gautier
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
Clément Penven
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
Emmanuel Morin
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
Hugo Hofstetter
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
Florian Vachon
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
Zdenek Stybar
Deceuninck - Quick Step
Rinie Longuet
Deceuninck - Quick Step
Kasper Asgreen
Deceuninck - Quick Step
Jasper Stuyven
Deceuninck - Quick Step
Yves Lampaert
Deceuninck - Quick Step
Florian Sénéchal
Deceuninck - Quick Step
Jens Keukeleire
Deceuninck - Quick Step
Delio Fernández
Delko Marseille Provence KTM
Alessandro Fedeli
Delko Marseille Provence KTM
Jules Franco
Delko Marseille Provence KTM
Jérémy Leveau
Delko Marseille Provence KTM
Guillaume Levarlet
Delko Marseille Provence KTM
Joseph Areruya
Delko Marseille Provence KTM
Romain Sicard
Delko Marseille Provence KTM
Tanel Kangert
EF Education First Pro Cycling Team
Simon Pellaud
EF Education First Pro Cycling Team
Sep Vanmarcke
EF Education First Pro Cycling Team
Lawson Craddock
EF Education First Pro Cycling Team
Simon Clarke
EF Education First Pro Cycling Team
Sean Bennett
EF Education First Pro Cycling Team
Matteo Jorgenson
EF Education First Pro Cycling Team
Marc Sarreau
Groupama - FDJ
Ramon Sinkeldam
Groupama - FDJ
Matthieu Ladagnous
Groupama - FDJ
Benjamin Thomas
Groupama - FDJ
Valentin Madouas
Groupama - FDJ
Rudy Molard
Groupama - FDJ
Ignatas Konovalovas
Groupama - FDJ
Nikolas Maes
Lotto - Soudal
Enzo Wouters
Lotto - Soudal
Adrien Petit
Lotto - Soudal
Frederik Frison
Lotto - Soudal
Mathieu Van der Poel
Lotto - Soudal
Stan Dewulf
Lotto - Soudal
Nils Politt
Lotto - Soudal
Jack Bauer
Mitchelton - Scott
Callum Scotson
Mitchelton - Scott
Luke Durbridge
Mitchelton - Scott
Ariel Maximiliano Richeze
Mitchelton - Scott
Michael Albasini
Mitchelton - Scott
Christopher Juul Jensen
Mitchelton - Scott
Daryl Impey
Mitchelton - Scott
Eduardo Sepulveda
Movistar Team
Jorge Arcas
Movistar Team
Victor De La Parte
Movistar Team
José Joaquin Rojas
Movistar Team
Antonio Pedrero
Movistar Team
Jaime Roson
Movistar Team
Eduard Prades
Movistar Team
Cyril Lemoine
Team Arkéa - Samsic
Franck Bonnamour
Team Arkéa - Samsic
Gatis Smukulis
Team Arkéa - Samsic
Romain Hardy
Team Arkéa - Samsic
Benoît Jarrier
Team Arkéa - Samsic
Jérémy Maison
Team Arkéa - Samsic
Warren Barguil
Team Arkéa - Samsic
Alexis Gougeard
Team Bahrain Merida
Mark Christian
Team Bahrain Merida
Ivan Garcia Cortina
Team Bahrain Merida
Andrey Majevich
Team Bahrain Merida
Marcel Sieberg
Team Bahrain Merida
Salvatore Alfieri
Team Bahrain Merida
Sebastian Langeveld
Team Dimension Data
Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg
Team Dimension Data
Dylan Van Baarle
Team Dimension Data
Edvald Boasson Hagen
Team Dimension Data
Rohan Du Plooy
Team Dimension Data
Jones Helling
Team Dimension Data
Owain Doull
Team Ineos
Tiesj Benoot
Team Ineos
Diego Rosa
Team Ineos
Gianni Moscon
Team Ineos
Kristoffer Halvorsen
Team Ineos
Daniel Oss
Team Ineos
Edward Dunbar
Team Ineos
Floris De Tier
Team Jumbo - Visma
Nick Van der Lijke
Team Jumbo - Visma
George Bennett
Team Jumbo - Visma
Tony Martin
Team Jumbo - Visma
Pascal Eenkhoorn
Team Jumbo - Visma
Amund Grøndahl Jansen
Team Jumbo - Visma
Alexander Foliforov
Team Katusha - Alpecin
Mads Würtz Schmidt
Team Katusha - Alpecin
Matteo Fabbro
Team Katusha - Alpecin
Alexei Tsatevich
Team Katusha - Alpecin
Rick Zabel
Team Katusha - Alpecin
Cees Bol
Team Sunweb
Henning Batke
Team Sunweb
Asbjørn Kragh Andersen
Team Sunweb
Max Kanter
Team Sunweb
Robert Power
Team Sunweb
Vinnie Braet
Team Sunweb
Mads Pedersen
Team Sunweb
Niki Terpstra
Total Direct Energie
Adrian Banaszek
Total Direct Energie
Pim Ligthart
Total Direct Energie
Alexandre Pichot
Total Direct Energie
Yann Guyot
Total Direct Energie
Wouter Wippert
Total Direct Energie
Sacha Modolo
Total Direct Energie
Elia Viviani
Trek - Segafredo
Fabio Felline
Trek - Segafredo
Philippe Gilbert
Trek - Segafredo
Julien Bernard
Trek - Segafredo
William Clarke
Trek - Segafredo
André Greipel
Trek - Segafredo
Ryan Mullen
Trek - Segafredo
Vegard Stake Laengen
UAE - Team Emirates
Enrico Logica
UAE - Team Emirates
Alexander Kristoff
UAE - Team Emirates
Fernando Gaviria
UAE - Team Emirates
Cristian Camilo Muñoz
UAE - Team Emirates
Fabio Aru
UAE - Team Emirates
Johan Le Bon
Vital Concept - B&B Hotels
Romain Cardis
Vital Concept - B&B Hotels
Bert De Backer
Vital Concept - B&B Hotels
Yoann Bagot
Vital Concept - B&B Hotels
Quentin Pacher
Vital Concept - B&B Hotels
Arthur Vichot
Vital Concept - B&B Hotels
Julien Morice
Vital Concept - B&B Hotels
Thomas Sprengers
Wanty - Groupe Gobert
Frederik Backaert
Wanty - Groupe Gobert
Zico Waeytens
Wanty - Groupe Gobert
Loïc Vliegen
Wanty - Groupe Gobert
Fabien Doubey
Wanty - Groupe Gobert
Guillaume Martin
Wanty - Groupe Gobert
Tosh Van der Sande
Wanty - Groupe Gobert
Profile
The Favourites
Terpstra is seen as the favourite for the 2nd year in a row, and will want to win for his French team, who are rumoured to be increasing their budget for next season. Another poor result could see Terpstra moving on from a team willing to give him a big contract just two summers ago.
If the race reaches the velodrome with Sagan in the lead group, he should have the sprint advantage over any other riders, but Stuyven could challenge him.
Pedersen, Benoot and Vanmarke are all very strong riders too, and all 3 say they have been preparing for this race with their early season races and training, so Pedersen may be even stronger than he was at Rvv and some of the other Flanders classics.
Quickstep have 3 main options to ride for again, just like RvV so theres no definitive leader, but with such a strong team, they will want to make the race difficult for teams that are much weaker. Stybar will want to do the double Im sure, but it will take a great day from him.
FreitasPCM wrote:
Good luck for Roubaix! Evenepoel was strong in the Basque Country, promising signs for the future.
Thanks. He should hopefully be strong enough next year to be challenging for week long stage races. All he really needs is one growth spurt since I've seen lots of guys get +3 in their main stat when they improve.
The first sector, Troisvilles, sees riders already fall off the back. No notable names so far, but the pack is already riding hard, which means this could be a painful remaining couple of hours.
Lampaert of Quickstep punctures in the middle of the race
Lampaert, one of DQS' potential team leaders needs a new tire. His team was putting lots of pressure on at the front of the race, so will need to slow up so that he can get back on.
Wout Van Aert, one of the pre-race favourites abandons
After a crash with still over 140km to the finish, Wout Van Aert is forced to abandon.
The first major splits of the day
After a high pace on the Arenberg and Hornaing sectors, the first major split is made on the Warlaing to Brillion sector. Pedersen, Moscon, Van Baarle and Cort Nielsen are all behind. Much of the Quickstep team, as well as Vanmarke, Terpstra and Sagan are all still in the leaders group.
The first attacks from the leaders group
Mads Pedersen reaches his way back to the front group after Quickstep decide to stop pacing at the front for a moment. Grondahl Jansen, after his great Tour of Flanders decides to attack and maybe show his teams colours, which would have otherwise been represented by Van Aert. He is followed by the recently resurrected Pedersen, Sagan and Terpstra.
Stybar punctures!
Stybar is going to be changing tire brands after this classics season for sure. This time he punctures at a crucial moment, and may not make it back to the front, a big loss for Deceuninck.
A bit of respite for the front group
After following the front group for almost 20kms, Stybar finally gets back to the leaders, as the pace slows somewhat. He probably wont have the legs left to win now, but he can still be a useful teammate, as we go under 20kms to go now!
Naesen attacks
Naesen sped up on the Carefour de l'Arbre and despite another moment of respite thereafter a new group of 11 has been formed, with only these 11 looking like they have a shot at the win.
Lampaert attacks
With 3 riders in the group for Deceuninck, and a slow moment with everyone looking around, Lampaert decides now is his moment to attack! He gets a gap of 25 seconds to the group, who appear to not be chasing too hard. This could be the winning move!
On to the velodrome
But tragedy strikes, as after reaching the Velodrome alone, Lampaert visibly implodes and the group behind make the catch, a heartbreaking moment for sure, but now Styuven still has a chance to win for his team. with Vanmarke, GVA, Naesen, Politt and Sagan all there too.
Sprinting for the win on the velodrome
At the end of 256kms the most obvious sprinter choice isnt always the best choice, and Sagan and Stuyven both looked very tired in the sprint. Vanmarke takes the win ahead of Naesen and Politt. The hero of the day, Lampaert all the way down in 10th.
1
Sep Vanmarcke
EF Education First Pro Cycling Team
+00:00
2
Oliver Naesen
AG2R La Mondiale
+00:00
3
Nils Politt
Lotto - Soudal
+00:00
4
Greg Van Avermaet
CCC Team
+00:00
5
Peter Sagan
BORA - hansgrohe
+00:00
6
Jasper Stuyven
Deceuninck - Quick Step
+00:00
7
Philippe Gilbert
Trek - Segafredo
+00:00
8
Mads Pedersen
Team Sunweb
+00:00
9
Niki Terpstra
Total Direct Energie
+00:00
10
Yves Lampaert
Deceuninck - Quick Step
+00:00
11
Zdenek Stybar
Deceuninck - Quick Step
+01:48
12
Gianni Moscon
Team Ineos
+02:09
13
Dylan Van Baarle
Team Dimension Data
+02:31
14
Luke Durbridge
Mitchelton - Scott
+02:31
15
Mathieu Van der Poel
Lotto - Soudal
+02:31
16
Fernando Gaviria
UAE - Team Emirates
+02:31
17
Edvald Boasson Hagen
Team Dimension Data
+02:31
18
Alexander Kristoff
UAE - Team Emirates
+02:31
19
Elia Viviani
Trek - Segafredo
+03:42
20
Tiesj Benoot
Team Ineos
+04:13
21
Amund Grøndahl Jansen
Team Jumbo - Visma
+04:13
22
André Greipel
Trek - Segafredo
+05:13
23
Stijn Vandenbergh
AG2R La Mondiale
+05:13
24
Tony Martin
Team Jumbo - Visma
+05:13
25
Kasper Asgreen
Deceuninck - Quick Step
+05:13
Up Next...
- Amstel Gold Race (1.UWT)
- La Fleche Wallone (1.UWT)
- Liege Bastogne Liege (1.UWT)
Edited by valverde321 on 16-05-2019 04:13
@ Batista - Yeah, it was tough to take the loss like that, and then Styuven just didnt have the legs to sprint.
@ sutty - Yeah it was too bad. If Stybar hadn't punctured and chased to get back on, he probably could have done a lot of the riding with Stuyven following, but most other teams didn't have 3 riders at the front so it wasn't like we were at a disadvantage.
As we near the 40km to go mark, a split appears, with lots of favourites caught behind. Sagan, Colbrelli, last years winner, and the favourite, Alaphilippe are all in the front group though.
The timegaps sound big, but the groups are within sight of each other, so it could still come back together.
DQS on the front
Deceuninck are trying their best to make sure they group behind never comes back though.
The pace does more than that though, as the front of the race is now only a group of 16 riders!
Valverde cracks
Jungels attacks
Jungels attacks, but is brought back right away!
Now Alaphilippe attacks!
Perhaps the first attack was a dummy. With under 10km to go, any move could be the winning one now!
Alaphilippe was brought back so, Jungels goes again
Just a few km away from the finishing hill, Jungels attacks again, and this time Colbrelli makes an attack too! I suppose he's trying to win it a different way from last year.
Colbrelli's attack, right before the sprint to the line
Alaphilippe wins, just barely
Jungels did all of the work to bring Alaphilippe up the hill into a great position, and in the sprint he just barely holds off a charging Michael Matthews to take his first Amstel Gold Race.
1
Julian Alaphilippe
Deceuninck - Quick Step
+00:00
2
Michael Matthews
Trek - Segafredo
+00:00
3
Daniel Martin
UAE - Team Emirates
+00:00
4
Tim Wellens
Trek - Segafredo
+00:00
5
Sonny Colbrelli
Team Bahrain Merida
+00:00
6
Caleb Ewan
Lotto - Soudal
+00:00
7
Peter Sagan
BORA - hansgrohe
+00:00
8
Geraint Thomas
Team Ineos
+00:00
9
Bob Jungels
Deceuninck - Quick Step
+00:00
10
Philippe Gilbert
Trek - Segafredo
+00:00
11
Gianni Moscon
Team Ineos
+00:00
12
Jan Tratnik
Team Ineos
+00:00
13
Jay McCarthy
BORA - hansgrohe
+00:00
14
Michael Valgren
Team Dimension Data
+00:00
15
Pieter Serry
Deceuninck - Quick Step
+00:00
16
Valentin Madouas
Groupama - FDJ
+01:27
17
Christophe Laporte
Team Katusha - Alpecin
+01:27
18
Roman Kreuziger
Total Direct Energie
+01:27
19
Sergio Luis Henao
UAE - Team Emirates
+02:42
20
Rohan Dennis
Team Bahrain Merida
+03:30
La Fleche Wallonne (1.UWT) 2020
The break, still clear with 30km to go
A 6 man break is 2min ahead of the peloton with only 30km to go, so the pack will really need to start chasing them down.
Finally the pace is brought up
With 12km to go, during the descent towards the Cote de Cherave, a 29 rider group breaks away from the rest of the pack.
The sprint on the Mur de Huy
The 29 riders reach the Mur de Huy after catching the break, and now it will be an uphill sprint to the line. Valverde is still here, and could be going for his record 6th win here.
Alaphilippe wins!
But it wont be the Spaniard winning today, instead it will be Alaphilippe again, who has been having a great season, already winning Strade Bianche, Amstel Gold andthe Tour Down Under, and will now look to complete the Triple, only done twice ever before.
1
Julian Alaphilippe
Deceuninck - Quick Step
+00:00
2
Michal Kwiatkowski
Team Ineos
+00:00
3
Daniel Martin
UAE - Team Emirates
+00:00
4
Tim Wellens
Trek - Segafredo
+00:00
5
Bob Jungels
Deceuninck - Quick Step
+00:00
6
Bauke Mollema
Trek - Segafredo
+00:00
7
Michael Matthews
Trek - Segafredo
+00:00
8
Peter Sagan
BORA - hansgrohe
+00:00
9
Gianni Moscon
Team Ineos
+00:00
10
Anthony Roux
Astana Pro Team
+00:28
11
Pieter Serry
Deceuninck - Quick Step
+00:40
12
Michael Woods
EF Education First Pro Cycling Team
+00:40
13
Daryl Impey
Mitchelton - Scott
+00:54
14
Romain Bardet
AG2R La Mondiale
+01:16
15
Alejandro Valverde
Movistar Team
+01:16
16
Miguel Angel Lopez
Astana Pro Team
+01:25
17
Jelle Vanendert
Lotto - Soudal
+01:37
18
Lilian Calmejane
Total Direct Energie
+01:46
19
Bjorg Lambrecht
Deceuninck - Quick Step
+01:46
20
Michael Gogl
Trek - Segafredo
+01:59
Liege - Bastogne - Liege (1.UWT) 2020
The Cote de la Redoute with 35km to go
We reach one of the vital moments in the race, and a group of only 50 riders can hang on to the front of the race. Surely there will be some attacks soon?
Alaphilippe goes for the Triple, solo this time
The Redoute saw the lead group diminish to a group of just 25, and now with 12km to go, Alaphilippe makes his move. The first two have been in a sprint, so he wants this one to be a solo attack.
Dan Martin trying to stay clear
But he's brought back! Dan Martin tries an attack, and is still clear heading onto the final corner onto the climb with 3km to go. Lambrecht is chasing for Quickstep.
The sprint to the line
Colbrelli and Teuns are on the right, and Martin is still in the lead. Alaphilippe is chraging hard, inside the final km, but does he have the power and energy to take it?
He does it! UNBELIEVABLE!
Alaphilippe takes it again! He cant be stopped this season.