A pretty unique race on the calendar. A combination of hills and cobbles but the cobbles being most on the downhill side making this a race a puncheur likes a lot more than most other cobbles.
Also just 10 teams here making this the smallest field all year! Some incredibly deep cobble squads here with a huge potential to score obviously.
As said in the preview Crabbe with an incredible lineup and so is Trans around Vanspeybrouck or HelloFresh around Van Keirsbulck with multiple potential winners.
Top favourite though is David, who to be fair has not as strong support as the others. Just 6 riders and actually just Bovenhuis of big support later on stat wise.
Early on a lot of puncheurs tried to attack, e.g. De Plus or Gautier.
Though they were caught again and now it`s three riders in front with Kuboki Malacarne Pushpakumara
making it a decent Eddie Stobart duo there.
A bit behind them Cannister and Nieuwenhuis but they never really make it despite long long solos.
De Plus later made the bridge though as he attacked another time alongside De Vos, who is interesting as HelloFresh might save some chasing work with him in the break, similar as Carrefour.
3 working teams here. Crabbe was obvious and so is Philips and TransLooney. No big surprise here as two top favourites and the strongest team depth wise.
113km to go, just on hte 3rd of 6 passings of the climb, a very interesting move. Two team leaders attacking from far out! Nolf and Gamper. It will be difficult for them against the armada`s behind but both of them likely will be isolated quickly anyway as the team support is tiny. Maximum Skala for Carrefour could be another option on the paves.
A lot stranger move following though. First Ariesen as decent cobbler but actually 5th best only for Crabbe and then also Bovenhuis attack, as said previously, the only cobble helper for top favourite David in the finale!
Meanwhile Nolf and Gamper make it to the breakaway, which is still around 2'30 ahead of the peloton and just under 100km to go, so it took 15km for them to bridge.
Even better for them as this move likely was planned. With Kuboki and De Plus both have strong team mates in there for the uphill sections.
While Crabbe stopped working since the Ariesen attack, Philips still supported TransLooney despite Bovenhuis in front and while he clearly did less work than the Crabbe rider, he also took turns in the wind.
Anyway, after a 20km ride, both are caught again, whatever this attempt by in especially Philips was supposed to be.
For a moment Skala also considered an attack following his leader Nolf. But he couldn`t really open a gap and this leads to a big move by Crabbe. Declerq and Tsatevich attack with still 57km to go. Likely their two top riders here putting the pressure on weaker teams Philips and TransLooney even more for the chasing.
But so far Lafay, Schelling or Calmejane are doing a good work and bring them back rather fast.
By now all those moves and early work did cost some teams. Crabbe already lost Ariesen and Domene while TransLooney is having Keukeleire behind as cobble sprint option and also Abraha is about to be dropped and so is Bovenhuis...what a desaster for Philips seeing with 42km to go Tom David is isolated in a group of 27!
Calmejane as kind of last big support as well for Vanspeybrouck. Both in the first two positions, then David already.
Crabbe not working a lot right now. They might have the team depth but none of their riders is as strong as the top favourites and neither is HelloFresh with a lot of team riders in the group helping due to Vos in the break and also Carlsberg isn`t doing a lot. One reason clearly being that Sinkeldam is not looking as good, often being in a late position and also none of the helpers are good on the cobbles.
The gap to the break still got reduced to 1'24 with 35km to go due to Calmejane`s great effort.
Another reason for the reduction is that the break doesn`t work together very well. With Malacarne being dropped by now, both Pushpakumara and De Vos aren`t happy that the other 2 teams aren`t working as much as they probably should and still want them to work a lot as well. So they attack the group but can`t make it very far.
With 19km it`s actually Gamper accelerating and with still 1'25 it`s now getting dangerous if he goes all-in.
Nolf chasing.
This sees more top favourites behind having to act. Vanspeybrouck attacks with Tsatevich right behind. Also David, Declerq and Naesen follow with Moulingui trying to but he also was isolated quickly already and seems to suffer.
Gamper has increased the gap a little big while HelloFresh has taken over in the peloton to chase the most recent attacking group, which did cost them Thwaites, who lost contact.
But Kumara and Riesebeek for HelloFresh were able to catch the Vanspeybrouck group again, which resulted in a short looking at each other and extending the gap to 2'20 until some riders decided to chase again, which is now HelloFresh only seeing De Vos is no longer in for win, if at all this was realistic against Nolf/Gamper anyway.
Crabbe still seems to wait for "Philips" working with an isolated leader, who in fact has already worked at the front a lot or TransLooney, who also has not the depth left.
This all obviously helps the break and it`s still 5 riders chasing Gamper. And Carrefour struggling a lot to really make a difference and so it`s De Vos mainly.
11km and the last uphill section. Crabbe back working with Tsatsevich actually chasing alongside David and Vanspeybrouck now, the group is close again and in sight. Also Gamper seems to be caught again.
Though only by his team mate De Plus and De Vos!
Awful news for Carrefour, who is not able to follow with neither of their riders so close to the top.
Moulingui now pays for being basically isolated for a long time. He can`t follow with still 20 riders ahead of him. Stuyven as puncheur still in there though not waiting for him.
Maybe their last chance if they really go for it now and no longer wait. Vanspeybrouck and David accelerate and behind them a much more selected group now. Van Naesen Tsatevich Riesebeek Hugentobler De Tier Nzeke
This means Sinkeldam is missing from the big names!
7km to go and Gamper again trying. He is the strongest on the cobbles and the others are more puncheurs and struggle here on the descent a lot more.
Similar further behind where Vanspeybrouck is strongest here and no one able to follow.
Behind him David, Tsatsevich, Van Keirsbulck have made contact to Nolf, Kuboki and Pushpakumara while the others are back in the Sinkeldam group!
2,5km and it`s 20s for Gamper ahead of De Vos and De Plus, who now obviously is no longer working.
Just another 24s though to Vanspeybrouck, who is incredibly fast on the descent though.
The veteran is coming closer. Definitely in to catch the two ahead of him but will he also be able to go for the win? Gamper really looking a bit too far ahead.
Tsatsevich also has opened a small gap to the next led by David!
Big winner today though is Gamper. Lierse played it to perfection today sending their strongest two into early moves knowing, they won`t stand a chance against the teams behind. Though also got lucky with HelloFresh having a rider in the break and David being isolated early leading to bad cooperation behind.
Vanspeybrouck was about twice as fast as the others but the road were running out which means, he missed like 10 meters for 2nd!
Instead De Vos and De Plus complete the podium. Still a great result for HelloFresh, surprising rider only and Lierse even better surprising them all.
Tsatsevich in 5th also just 50m behind and likely needed another 100m for 3rd.
Naesen as best sprinter for 6th, depth wise okay scoring but individually wise and in especially controlling wise not the best tactics from them.
David in 7th, which likely was the maximum after not being able to follow Vanspeybrouck on the downhill. He was strong today, worked at the front starting with 40km to go, followed the important moves, but the team support was not there today, in especially due to a bad idea to send a potential top10 rider in Bovenhuis into a long range attack earlier, though fair enough, if he had done it a tiny bit earlier following Gamper, it could have worked as well.
Van Keirsbulck next while Nolf still as 9th and Pushpakumara with a solid 10th ahead of Kuboki as last breakaway survivors.
Sinkeldam surely next to Moulingui the biggest loser here. 14th for him surrounded by 2 team mates but no one able to help him on a bad day while Eurosport`s leader is down to 28th, even behind Stuyven in 21st for them.
