It’s time for the second Monument of the season to start; Ronde van Vlaanderen. We are in Brugge waiting to the race director car to let the riders finally ride. The obvious favourite is Sam Bewley, the 2-times reigning champion, but Danny Summerhill and Greg van Avermaet will try to avoid the the third win in a row for the New Zealand superstar.
The day is sunny, that’s good, but we have a really strong wind, with winds over 40 km/h. This, together with a too dangerous breakaway in the start of the race - at least according to RBC and Moser, who are trying to bring them back - has provoked a split in the group only 20 km into the race. No important riders were caught in the split, and a few km later they would come back to the main group
This is a dangerous moment for the race, as ALL the big favourite teams have one rider in the breakaway
De Gendt Boev Stoltz Edmondson Habtom McLay
Pendleton’s is doing the chase now. They can’t let those riders to get any gap, as this would mean that the best team wouldn’t have to do the chase, making a real possibility to have a breakaway win today. The leading group has already 1’30 on the bunch, so it won’t be easy
Pendleton’s has stopped working, so the group’s gap has grown to over 5 minutes with 200 km left. Despite having Habtom in the front, Moser don’t want to let them have a big gap, as their goal is to win with Bewley
We are now on the first cobbled sections of the race, when the breakaway riders have 7 minutes with 130 km left. The bunch still has this controlled, but they really need to reduce the gap soon
80 km left and the gap to the leading group is now less than 3 minutes. Stybar is setting the pace in the group in one of the first Muurs of the day
Stoltz has just crashed from the leading group, but TV cameras couldn’t film it. He has got up and is now in the bunch, as another domestiques for Van Avermaet. 70 km left, 2 minutes for the breakaway
We are approaching the zone with most hilly cobbled sections in the race, and the group only has now 80 riders with 70 km left
Polnicki’s intense rhythm together with the high amount of hilly cobbled sections now, has made the group to be reduced to only 15 riders with 55 km left.
First try by Senechal on a flatter cobbled section, but Bewley is quickly on his wheel, not letting him go anywhere. Maes and Zepuntke have been able to re-join the favourites group , but riders as Stallaert, Vanmarcke, Kristoff, David, Sulimov and Lampaert are on a second group, almost 1 minute behind the first one
Senechal’s efforts have made the favourites group to catch the breakaway, which gives Bewley another domestique with Habtom
Bewley is the big favourite, and he doesn’t want to win in a sprint, so he is attacking with 49 km to go, with only Van Avermaet being able to follow him initially
Bewley’s move was neutralised by Summerhill, and the pause that came with it made a few riders to re-join the first group. Right now, with 45 km left, there are 26 riders still on the fight for the win today
Boros, Bewley Summerhill, McLay Van Avermaet Senechal Baugnies Vanspeybrouck, Edmondson Vanbilsen Blythe Breen, Trentin, Ringheim Zepuntke Maes Vanmarcke Stallaert David Langeveld De Gendt Sulimov
Boros was pulling for Bewley in the group, but Van Avermaet felt like this was not the way he wants the race to be, and has attacked in the top of a hill. Surprisingly, Bewley has left other riders to follow the Belgian’s move, instead of going himself on his wheel. Might be a sign of weakness?
Neither Summerhill or Senechal couldn’t bridge the gap to Van Avermaet, so Bewley had to do the chase himself. The Belgian has got a 12-second gap with 40 km left. Also, Trentin has put one domestique to relay in the front, to not let Van Avermaet gain too much time
Bewley has caught Van Avermaet and now is himself making a split in what was left in the leading group, doing that only other 7 riders can stay with him at the moment
Bewley, Van Avermaet, Summerhill, Senechal, Baugnies, Bylthe, Vanspeybrouck and David
Both Blythe and Baugnies have been dropped, while Van Avermaet and Bewley seems to be working together to make as much damage as possible to the other riders, and then play themselves for the win
Over half a minute behind the leaders, we have a group with some interesting riders. But they are unlikely to recover that time loss after being dropped by Bewley’s and Van Avermaet’s pace
Trentin, Maes, Stallaert, Zepuntke, Breen, Baugnies and Blythe.
20 km left. Van Avermaet and Bewley keep doing all the work in the leading group. This could play into Summerhill hands. Trentin has attacked from his group, but his gap to the leading group keeps increasing, as now is almost 1 minute. The other riders are completely wasted and will fight for eighth place.
In only 3 km... Kapelmuur!
There was a little cobbled section right before Kapelmuur, and there Bewley has attacked! Only Van Avermaet has been able to go with him, but he is suffering to stay on his wheel
Summerhill is trying to bridge the gap to the leading duo in Kapelmuur, but he still has 15 seconds to make up. Bewley couldn’t get rid of Van Avermaet, so unless he can do it in Bosberg, this will be decided in a sprint
Van Avermaet cracks in the top of Kapelmuur! Bewley has already opened a 10-second gap to him, and 20 further on Summerhill.
Bewley has now pass over Bosberg with a 20-second gap to Van Avermaet and Summerhill, who seems to be together now in Bewley’s chase, although they seems to be done without energies left. A minute further behind, Trentin has joined David, Vanspeybrouck and Senechal in the fight for 4th place
5 km left for Bewley, who is going to win his third Ronde van Vlaanderen, putting himself only behind Tom Boonen in the RVV wins list. Van Avermaet and Summerhill are almost 1 minute behind him and the gap will only increase from now
Final km for Sam Bewley! What a ride from the rider of Moser - Sygic!
Sam Bewley wins 2017 Ronde van Vlaanderen!
Final km for the other two riders that will be in the podium next to Bewley; Van Avermaet and Summerhill are sprinting for the second place...
... which Van Avermaet takes easily, being a much better sprinter than the American rider
The sprint for fourth place is won by Senechal, as he was the only one with something left for the sprint. Vanspeybrouck takes fifth ahead of Trentin and David
Stallaert wins easily the sprint for 8th place, ahead of Breen and Blythe, who complete the top10. Just outside of it, Baugnies, Zepuntke and Maes
Vanbilsen is the first rider from a PCT team, while Boros gives Moser a few interesting points for a top15 placement
Awesome win for Sam Bewley, who shows us again he is the boss in the cobbles. Is his seventh Monument in cobbled classics, and his ninth overall. This puts him fourth in the all-time Monument winners list, just behind De Vlaeminck (11), Boonen (13) and Merckx (19). At same point he didn’t look as strong as always, especially in some attacks of Van Avermaet, but he was imperial in the Kapelmuur, right were he had to.
Lots of riders didn't make it into the time limit, so they lose their "guaranteed" 5 points from this race
