Looks like we're ready for a race in the Flemish Ardennes. With climbs like the Muur van Geraardsbergen, Paterberg and Oude Kwaremont on the route, you just know we're in for a tough day of racing. The weather conditions don't help the riders, either. The weather is cold and rain is expected.
As mentioned earlier, the favorites for today stage are Baugnies, Maes, Franzoi, Nuyens, Breschel and Thomas.
There is no use in postponing the start, the riders are all getting wet, waiting in the rain. In horrible weather conditions, a 187 men peloton faces a course of 203 km ahead of them.
Our first attacker of the day goes by the name of Kebede.
He isn't the only one thinking about going in the attack, though. After a fast opening of the race, the breakaway is formed. The 16 names are:
A breakaway of that size definitely opens up opportunities.
The peloton is taking it easy and allows the break to get some time on the pack. The gap is now over 6 minutes.
Teams picking up the pace include Quickstep, Team Carlsberg - Danske Bank, Allianz-BMW Cycling Team and AMEXpc.
The maximum gap is recorded as 6'24".
We're on the Muur van Geraardsbergen now with the breakaway and we see the peloton heading towards the foot. They're closing down the gap.
On top of the Muur, the peloton gets stretched out on one line. This is dangerous to get caught behind!
Going downhill, we note the first crash of the race. It's Honkisz who bites the dust.
Tiredness is taking its toll in the peloton as more riders lose concentration and make mistakes. The next one to take a fall is Jaguar - Eritel Cisse, from the breakaway group. A man of his abilities should join up with the front group again soon enough, though.
Quickstep is laying down a fast pace now. They're confident that their leader will finish the job today. With Baugnies, Van Asbroeck, Vanbilsen and Steurs in their ranks, they have more than one option at the finish line.
Meanwhile this race has turned into a true marathon race. There are no attacks, but the door is wide open at the back of the peloton.
The current situation, with 62 kilometers left, is as follows:
E1 (16)
P (122): 2'24"
A1 (29): 5'16"
A2 (20): 6'15"
But now the breakaway is ripping apart completely. Without any accelerations, 5 riders fell off the pace. We're left with the following riders:
Two teams are prominent in the chase now. They are Team Hornbach and Quickstep.
The battle of endurance continues at the front. Four men are left standing:
Herklotz Ruiz Lagkuti Choi
Meanwhile, the peloton is racing through the roads of Flanders so fast that the danger of ripping up the peloton is around every corner.
With 34 kilometers left to race, the peloton has a visual on the front of the race, Herklotz, Ruiz and Lagkuti.
And only now we see a first attack in the peloton. Thomas tried his luck from far out!
At the front, however, they're not sitting up and waiting for the peloton to catch them. One man decides to go solo. The last standing man. His name is Herklotz, the German from Team Puma - SAP.
Thomas is caught. There's only one man left up the road now.
This is an amazing effort. Silvio Herklotz is riding solo. Can he make it? He has a lead of 1'14", but there is still 24 kilometers left to race.
The chase is on!
But there's another attempt, this time from Breschel. He's clearly looking to avoid a mass sprint. The peloton is still 43 men strong, after all.
Quickstep doesn't let anything go at this point, though. They regroup. But don't forget that German out there!
10 kilometers left to go. Herklotz seems to be losing ground quickly now. It looks like we're heading for a sprint with a 43 men peloton.
Just as Thomas launches into another attack, our last remaining breakaway rider is caught. Time for the favorites to start their finale!
With 5 kilometers left, Thomas' attempt seems doomed. There are still some teams left with sprinters and enough team mates to reel in any attack now.
The sprint is on!
The sprinters catch Thomas. On the right we have Baugnies, on the left Trentin!
Baugnies is taking the upper hand now.
But Steegmans is coming up amazingly fast. The same can be said for Eisel.
It's going down fast now! The top 5 positions are as follows:
Baugnies Steurs Trentin Steegmans Eisel
The winner will come out of these five riders!
Breschel has started his sprint now, too. He's coming fast but he may be too late. The battle for victory is between Steegmans and Eisel.
Steegmans is in the lead! Can he keep it?
No! It's Eisel who crosses the finish line first, what a victory from the AMEXpc team. Steegmans finishes second and Breschel completes the podium.
Baugnies is the first Quickstep rider to cross the line, getting a fourth place. Lagab is fifth. Places 6 to 8 are all for Quickstep riders, with Steurs, Vanbilsen and Van Asbroeck. Trentin and Visconti get ninth and tenth.
Minutes later, smaller groups are still finishing, this truly was an exhausting ride.
The biggest disappointment of the day is arguably this man: Machado. He crosses the line 77th, more than 5 minutes down.
23 minutes behind the winner, the last rider comes to the finish line. In a hard, wet and long race, we have no abandonments, which is truly exceptional. The last rider to finish is Goldstein.
