Luckily for any random climbers, it's sunny today, very warm. The wind is typically strong though, and it'll be headwind for the start, cross for a while and a head/tailwind around the loops and cobbles before a headwind at the finish. Will this increase the likelihood of a sprint? Who knows.
The breakaway today is formed without much bother. It consists of Jans, Vastaranta, Clifford and Brus.
Newcomers to the PCT but from different divisions, Podium Ambition and Orange are the pacesetters over the solo early cobbled sector. With 200km to go the gap is 3'42 from the escapees to the peloton.
Over the Casselberg quite a few riders lose touch with the peloton including one of the many sprinters-who-can cobble, Harrison. Time will tell whether he rejoins the pack but all would not be lost for his team with Bush still safe and sound in the pack.
Many of the riders have returned but one hasn't: Amadou Bakari. Unfortunately it looks as though the Gabonese rider won't be gracing us with his talents today. Meanwhile 80km to go and the breakaway still has 4'13 although he gap is decreasing at a good rate for the peloton.
Up a regular sealed hill Altur subtly turns up the pace after Teunissen's Generali squad strung out the peloton over the Kemmelberg. It looks as though he's forced a move of around 30 riders. We don't have all the names but we do know that Van Keirsbulck, Kump, Rowe, Polanc and Drucker haven't made it across. There is also no sign of the sprinters. Isostar seem to be in charge of the reeling in effort. 57km to go.
However despite the advantage stretching over a minute Isostar are putting in the hard yards and another splinter group are in place of around 20 riders. The main men still in the peloton are Kennaugh, Havik, Tsatevich and (LIE) Van Aesbroeck.
The Slovenians have shut the gap! A 53 man group of favourites and assorted domestiques as the Isostar duo, Van Keirsbulck, Rowe, and Drucker among others return. Other notables are returning domestiques for main favourites in Hristov and Daniel.
The rain is coming down and the gap between peloton and favourite's group is 1'10 and the breakaway is almost done. We cross the Kemmelberg again, our last cobbled sector. Time to prepare for a reduced bunch sprint, or will we see a roleur leave his mark on the final 40km? Plenty of road meaning there could still be action left to come.
The last 20km have been nothing but Theuns and you have to question the thinking of the Italians to waste their only hope left in a sprint to control pace. Unless Teunissen has something brewing? 2'10 the gap to the peloton which is actually now only slightly larger, meaning they're also likely irrelevant now. Jans and Vastaranta actually held down the fort well for a while but are barely a few metres out of shot now.
10km left and status quo, Theuns still not letting anyone go. Will he relent early enough for any late moves or will it be a sprint? Kump surely the favourite in that case with a few teammates as well here. Rowe could also take it out and both have classics men who could make a move on their side too.
Have you heard about these outrageous gas prices?
The Belgian still leading with 3km to go and surely a sprint now. However it's still the cobbled specialists behind him with SPAR, possibly for Nepomnyachsniy the only real train to speak of in about 6th wheel.
2km to go and this is a bit weird. Still the favourites in behind with Rowe out on the right. Kump is about 30 riders back whilst the group is going so slowly the group behind has caught them.
Nepomnyachsniy has positioned himself well in behind the slower-finishing cobblers as riders begin to realise they should try to cross the line before other riders with 1km to go.
600m and across the road is: Tsatevich having come the long way back looking for a surprise win, (LIE) Vanbilsen stuck behind Burghardt, Theuns on track for a top 10 somehow, Kamyshev leading but slowly, and Teunissen looking to beat Nepomnyachsniy for the gap on the far left.
Kamyshev loses ground quickly as the Eastern Europeans on either side are clearly the fastest. Can anybody beat out Nepomnyachsniy?
The Ukranian's lead is getting bigger every pedalstroke as Tsatevich tries to edge out Burghardt. Teunissen, (LIE) Vanbilsen and Altur are about in line, Wisinowski is coming in hot behind and everybody else is going backwards or battling for 7th.
A well executed win for Nepomnyachsniy today, one of his most well-suited races but he wasn't the favourite. Tsatevich will be second whilst
Altur overhauls Burghardt for 3rd. Wisniowski comes in be 5th, Teunissen 6th. A strange race which looked like it was for the tough sprinters but in the end it was mostly the cobbled favourites in the top places actually, excluding the very top two.
