We’re in Belgium, on the cobblestones again, and one question is on everybody’s mind. Can Andorra with their fierce duo of Summerhill and Vanspeybrouck be stopped? Let’s find out:
The race starts right off with the first two ascents and no one dares to attack yet. However, we do have the first riders falling off the pace. This is going to be a long day for Robert and Schomber and not one likely to end with a finish within the time limit.
12 kilometers into the race on the flat section between the hills, we finally have the first breakaway attempt. Vahtra and Drucker make the move. The latter is actually a really solid cobblestone rider. Adastra don’t have a serious contender here, so they figure it might be a good idea to send one of their two leaders up ahead early.
The duo was already two minutes ahead and probably not too happy about being all alone when another wave of riders decided to attack. Doull initiates the move, followed by Lovassy, Hoelgaard, Van Hoecke, Martins Sandoval and with a little gap Giorgi Nareklishvili. A very potent group - relatively speaking.
Nareklishvili fell back to the peloton, then Lovassy breaks free of his companions on the first climb of the second lap. The leading duo is 40 seconds ahead, the peloton only 40 seconds behind the quartet now led by Martins Sandoval.
Drucker already leaves Vahtra behind and Doull has trouble following the rest of the escapees - this is a gruesome course.
4 riders reunite between laps 2 and 3: Drucker, Van Hoecke, Lovassy and Martins Sandoval. Hoelgaard is trailing at around a minute but isn’t coming closer, Vahtra and Doull are in the peloton again, another 1’10 behind.
At the end of the fourth lap, Martins Sandoval can’t keep up, leaving a trio ahead. The three leaders have a five minute lead on the peloton at this point.
At around the half way point of the race, the Mexican is caught. Andorra, Podium Ambition and Lierse have been the driving forces in the peloton, but the pace is still relatively calm. 135 riders remaining, the gap is down to just under four minutes again.
A few kilometers later, after lap 7 of 11, a first split occurs in the peloton. Riders on the wrong side of it include Orue, Maes and Saber, but most contenders are attentive. This split would close again, but only after quite a bit of time and a lot of effort.
At the start of lap 8, with still more than 60 kilometers to go, Joseph attacks from the peloton. He is Aramco’s best bet for a decent result today and it seems like he chooses the long range attack strategy to go for just that.
However, he’s swept up by Kireva just as Schomber gets lapped for the second time. Andorra continues to lead the now 100 men strong peloton - but we can expect that to shrink soon.
Indeed, as they exit the two climbs, 30 riders break free from the rest of the peloton. The top favorites are all in there, but guys like Zhupa and Ferreira are in the first chasing group, while Maes, Richardson and Orue have fallen even further behind.
Meanwhile, Van Hoecke has lost touch with Lovassy and Drucker. Passing through some lapped riders, he is about to be swept up by the peloton - by now comprised of 44 riders including those that were in the Zhupa and Ferreira group. The two leaders still have around 1’10 on them.
Eeckhout is the main guy putting pressure on the peloton in lap 9, and Summerhill is already in position in his wheel. So far, everything is going according to plan for Andorra, but no big opponent has shown any weakness so far and they surely don’t want to leave things to a sprint. Still 40 kilometers to go though.
Lovassy is using every bit of slipstream he can get. He’s now the lone survivor up ahead as we see Drucker getting swallowed by the peloton. 50 seconds left - this is of course not about staying ahead until the end, but trying to gain ground on as many other riders as possible to end up in the points. And it’s MOL’s only shot at getting any points at all, since all of his teammates have fallen behind a long time ago.
With Havik and Russo struggling, Duolingo and Aramco are also out of riders in the main group ( Joseph had to pay for his early attack and fell behind as well). Other teams without a rider in that group include DK - SVA Zalgiris, Tryg - Ritter Sport and Azteca - NBCSN, but Richardson is chasing and not too far behind.
Lander is still holding on for Adastra, although just barely, and Drucker is now in there as well of course, while Farfetch’d actually still has all three of van den Berg, Salzmann and Menten in there.
On the descent heading onto the flat for the penultimate time, a group of 12 split from the rest of the peloton. Those 12 are:
Summerhill
Altur
Owen
Vanmarcke
Baugnies
Coronel
Debesay
Schreurs
Daniel
Kaislavuo
Benoot
Cominelli
A bit of a surprise to see Summerhill all alone after all of the team’s work, and a few of his rivals still have a teammate with them.
23 riders follow 40 seconds later:
Trentin
Ostergaard
Vanspeybrouck
Eeckhout
Vanbilsen
Bolivar
Gamper
Ferreira
Breen
Van der Haar
Bush
Van Asbroeck
Moulingui
Thwaites
Chatarunga
Kulppi
Bester
Drucker
Van Keirsbulck
Noppe
van den Berg
Menten
Salzmann
And finally, another 35 seconds behind, a group of 10:
Zhupa
Walsleben
Vermeersch
Machado
Saber
Richardson
Matthews
Bridges
Kumara
Grashev
Havik is still chasing them, but all other bigger names are out of contention.
As we’re about to hit the hills for the second-to-last time, the big guy attacks! Summerhill accelerates and with almost taunting ease, he brings 40 seconds between himself and his chasers.
Said chasing group, led by the incredible Coronel, has grown to 24 riders. Trentin, Vanspeybrouck, Vanbilsen, Bolivar, Ferreira, Van Keirsbulck, Breen, Moulingui, Thwaites, Bush, Chatarunga and Menten are the guys who bridged across, Lovassy is also in there now.
Bush is the first to attack, trying to follow Summerhill. Menten and Vanmarcke go after him.
Benoot counters as well, then there’s a gap!
And with 20 kilometers to go, they actually make it to the American! What an unusual group this is!
Baugnies is the next man chasing, alone ahead of a group of six including Altur, Trentin, Vanbilsen, Daniel, Bolivar and Kaislavuo. We’re seeing some tremendous domestique performances here today!
Then it’s Breen, Vanspeybrouck (a little underwhelming so far, but of course not pressured to do much), Debesay, Van Keirsbulck and Van Asbroeck. They are just over a minute behind the leaders. Things could come back together on the flat stretch, but it’s tough to see anyone behind these having any impact from here on out.
Ferreira is the biggest name caught out, Moulingui, Thwaites and Chatarunga have also suffered a lot over these past kilometers.
At the front, Summerhill wants to make sure everyone knows who’s the strongest, he gets some seperation again. Benoot is trying to bring the others back, Bush and Menten seem to be struggling a bit.
Benoot is showing incredible strength here, catching back up to Summerhill. But they now only have 25 seconds on their first chasing group (the Xero rider is poor Schomber being lapped for the third time).
Here’s the situation heading into the finale. Menten is suffering quite a bit at the moment, immediately being overtaken by the chasers around Trentin and Altur, but he’s still on pace for a Top 15 result, possibly 11th, if he can manage his energy. The Top 10 seem to have been decided, just the order is still in question. And that’s the big question, of course.
Summerhill and Benoot still carry 20 seconds into the final 5 kilometers. The gradients from now on should suit the Fablok leader - can he pull an upset?
Debesay and Altur lead the chasers through rows of lapped riders. The leaders look so close, but at 15%, the perspective is a little distorted.
A quick look back where we see that Menten is trying his best to hold on. He still has around 45 seconds to the next group, where Kaislavuo (on the right) is actually gaining a little seperation from the likes of Van Keirsbulck, Vanbilsen, Bolivar and even his leader Daniel! Behind those, a somewhat larger group around Richardson and Ferreira has formed.
But back to the front, where we have more action! Debesay and Trentin have attacked in a final bid to bridge to gap to the front.
That acceleration marks the end of Vanmarcke’s dreams of a podium spot for today. He’s done, but his 10th place is fairly secure.
Interestingly, it’s Vanspeybrouck bringing the attackers back, maybe he wants to challenge for himself after all? Summerhill and Benoot enter the final kilometer still with those precious 20 seconds, the Belgian leading the way.
We’re inside the final kilometer now! Summerhill either can’t or doesn’t want to go to the front, but if he’s playing games, it’s very dangerous: Baugnies is blasting up the hill at great speed on the other side of the road. Breen and Trentin are following most closely - Debesay and Bush are struggling!
Baugnies apparently overdid it. He’s being overtaken first on the left by Trentin, who’s currently in third place, then on his right by Vanspeybrouck. On the right side of the road, Summerhill and Benoot maintain their gap, but just barely. The American slowly moves ahead as they come closer and closer to the finish line, the road flattening ever so slightly now. (Lots of lapped riders here …)
It’s a fight between three men now, Summerhill just ahead of Benoot. Can Trentin overtake them?
No! It’s a favorite’s win after all, Summerhill takes it! Benoot was a fantastic challenger today and is rewarded with the second place, Trentin comes in third.
It’s a bit tough to keep an overview with all those lapped riders, but let me try to help: Vanspeybrouck (#8, furthest ahead on the right) has taken a decisive lead over the other chasers, he’ll finish fourth. The next five riders are those closest to the camera with the exception of Xero’s #72: Baugnies still holds on to a tiny advantage over Breen, Altur and Bush, who has recovered as has Debesay, all still fighting for places 5-9.
In the end, no one had any energy left for a big acceleration. Baugnies finishes fifth ahead of Altur, who beats Breen, Bush and Debesay.
Vanmarcke finishes 10th …
… while Menten, today’s biggest positive surprise so far, is struggling! Kaislavuo is coming at a much higher pace, trying to steal the “surprise of the day” title on the last few meters, and Bolivar and Van Keirsbulck are closing in on the left hand side as well! Vanbilsen and Daniel are both outclassed by their domestiques here!
And indeed, it’s Kaislavuo who finishes 11th. Menten is 12th ahead of Bolivar and defending champion Van Keirsbulck. It was always very likely that he would not be able to defend that title, but finishing inside the Top 15 is a good effort in this field.
Vanbilsen and Daniel share the title of most negative surprises of the day, even getting pushed out of the Top 15 by Eeckhout at the very end. While they’re decent riders for the hills, it seems possible that the way these ascents were ridden may have required some steady climbing ability as well, something both sorely lack. But given some of the riders ahead of them, that can’t be the only reason - just a bad day for both of them.
Daniel even loses another place at the line to Richardson, who led his group up the hill in pursuit. Kulppi finishes next, giving Valio a lot of depth scoring at least. Schreurs rounds out the Top 20 ahead of Cominelli and Gamper. Ferreira sneaks into the points in 28th place, Thwaites is the next best team leader in 34th.
Al Murawwi and Zimmermann are the final riders to make it today, which means that just 5 riders miss the time limit.
In some ways, this was a result to be expected: Andorra controlled the race and ended up with the winner and fourth place. But we also had some surprises, including our runner up and plenty of breakout domestique performances, all the way up into the Top 15. This necessarily leaves a few riders and managers disappointed, that is the sometimes cruel nature of these classics. But for the neutral observer, there was plenty to stay glued to the screen.
Geraardsbergen-Bosberg 
