The Ronde van Vlaanderen is the most complete test of the classics rider, 265k of cobbles and hills. The race favorites show up as:
The first of the 25 sectors of cobbles (totaling 30k of cobbles in all) comes just 500 meters into the race. Not a lot of races like this in the Phillipines but that doesn’t stop Lampawog from being the first attacker. Antonijevic and Pons on his wheel. Defending champion Theuns (#131) has already staked out a place out the front of the peloton.
With about 10k gone 3 has swelled to 23 riders out front. Peloton at 1’19, not clear if they are going to let this group go.
They do not and Grieg, Tinkoff, UBS and Aker all contribute to the chase and 10k later everyone is back in the main field.
The next group to get away is 15 strong but the same teams are unhappy and chasing. With 45k gone the break has just 44 seconds.
As the break reaches cobbles sector 22 in Doorn, the first significant sector (1.7k, 4 star), their lead is 1’01 with the peloton still chasing. 5 more riders are trying to bridge across. The 15 front runners are: Antonijevic Hennessy Suter Boutopoulos Gradek Pons Lampawog Miltiadis Becis Dversnes Harrison Nareklishvili Ruiz Campbell Dewulf
200k to ride and the peloton have settled down now as they have shut down all the additional attacks. The leaders have 2’14 although they are only 12 strong now as Dewulf, Ruiz and Dversnes have been dropped. 20 riders have been dropped from the peloton including Goldstein who is already over 4 minutes behind.
180k to go the break is now on the Paddestraat (2.6k, 3 star). Antonijevic has just punctured reducing the break to 11 at the moment. Their lead is 3’20, most of the dropped riders have rejoined the peloton, the only riders left behind are Tinkoff’s Goldstein and Burman.
150k to go, the peloton is on Bontestraat (sector 16, 1.6k, 3 star) and Ringheim attacks. Grieg along with UBS had been doing a lot of the work. The leaders are 2’46 ahead, Antonijevic was able to rejoin but none of the other dropped riders.
Ringheim’s attack is joined by Salzmann and Kolev and 10k later they are just 24 seconds off the lead group. Menten and Karatzios are also on the attack. Aker has joined UBS leading the peloton.
120k to go for the break and they are on the Muur Kapelmuur (Sector 14, 1.9k 4 star). The break is now 17 strong with Ringheim, Salzmann, Kolev and Menten joining and Dewulf rejoining. Salzmann made it flatted and then made it back again. 5 more riders at 1’26 as attacks continue from the peloton. The peloton is at 2’45.
Sector 14 proves a tough one and by the end of it there are only 10 riders left in the break. With Menten, Dewulf, Kolev, Hennessy, Suter, Becis and Lampawog all dropped. Tinkoff is now aiding the chase in the peloton although most of the work is from Aker.
Soon after, under forcing from Van Moer, the peloton splits. 46 riders in the first group. Vanbilsen the biggest rider missing so Trans are leading the chase group of 20 riders.
Good work from Centrone and Schlechter brings Vanbilsen back and the front group swells to 87. They trail the leaders by 2 minutes. Aker, Tinkoff and UBS the teams working.
85k to go. The breakaway back to 15 strong but their lead is down to just 46 seconds. Reaching/rejoining the front are Kolev, Meiler, Menten, Potts, and Suter
66k to go as the peloton, led by Zubov, reach Sector 11, the Kattenberg (1.5k, 3 star). They are 41 seconds behind the break, the gap has been hovering in that range for a while. The break is down to 14 ( Pons dropped) while the peloton is down to 51 riders. Some key domestiques like Tiller, Vanspeybrouck, Van den Berg, and Darbinyan are in a group 46 seconds behind. As is Moser leader Boros.
The Kattenberg and the Holleweg cobbles which quickly follow it cause a major shakeout. The break is caught and only 34 riders emerge in the front group, with all the favorites included. But those mentioned before aren’t able to rejoin while Sulimov, Polanc and Neilands are also decisively dropped. A 7-rider group just 44 seconds back includes Zubov, Anderberg, and Grand. They could still rejoin but they all look pretty spent.
On the Eikenberg (Secton 9, 1.1k, 3 star), Jansen is allowed to ride off the front of the peloton. Meanwhile the lead group is reduced to 24 as 10 more riders including Vanbilsen are dropped.
50k and 8 cobbled sectors to go for the favorites group. Senechal on the front. Centrone almost brought Vanbilsen back again but they didn’t quite make it and they now trail by 1 minute. Jansen has a 20 second lead. There are 23 riders from 17 teams left in the favorites group chasing him, they are: Van Hooydonck Wisniowski Summerhill, Antonijevic Salzmann Debesay, Gradek Kulppi Teunissen, Malecki Pedersen, Ringheim Gerts Per Kasperkiewicz, Ferreira Gamper Zepuntke Theuns Altur Spengler Senechal, Kamyshev
As they hit the Koppenberg Jansen is caught and Ferreira has gone to the front.
But the King Power man can’t control Senechal and he drags a 4-rider group clear. It also includes Kamyshev, Wisniowski and Summerhill. Gerts is the next man on the road. At the back Antonijevic, Gradek, Malecki and Jansen are dropped. Few domestiques left.
As the leaders reach the Taaienberg (Sector 6, 1.1k 3 star) their lead is 31 seconds. Senechal is struggling. Behind the defending champion, Theuns, has been leading the chase. Just 12 riders left in that chase group as Salzmann, Ringheim, Ferreira and Zepuntke have been dropped. Only Tinkoff still have two riders in the action.
By the end of the Taaienberg Senechal is back with the chasers while Pedersen has dashed across to the leaders on his own. 37k to go.
The next 10k pass without the situation changing much, the lead hovering around 30 seconds with both groups working together reasonably well. Van Hooydonck is the only additional rider dropped from the chase group. But on the Oude Kruisberg, Summerhill and Pedersen attack.
And they get a gap and as they crest the top Pedersen gets away from Summerhill. The next two are 19 seconds behind and the chase group is a further 47 seconds down. Theuns has been dropped from the chase group, the defending champion may have done too much work. Kulppi also dropped.
Summerhill claws his way back to Pedersen and resists another attack. They hit the Paterberg with 20k to go and their lead is up to 39 seconds on Kamyshev and Wisniowski and 1’27 on the next 7 chasers where Spengler and Senechal have been dropped.
Over the top of the Paterberg Summerhill attacks Pedersen. Just 2 cobbles sections left, including the Oude Kwaremont in 2.5k. These two now lead by almost 1 minute.
Pedersen holds on and they reach the Oude Kwaremont together. It is 1.7k of 4-star cobbles at a considerable gradient. They lead the 2 chasers (Kamyshev and Wisniowski) by 1’12 and the next 7 (Per, Gerts, Altur, Kasperkiewicz, Gamper, Teunissen and Debasey) by 1’52.
Halfway up and Pedersen has a small gap on his American rival.
Behind, the third group are within 20 seconds of the 2nd group on the road. 35 seconds behind the third group are Senechal, Spengler and Theuns.
10k to go and 1 cobbled section to go for Pedersen, he has opened up a 23 second lead on Summerhill. Behind Kamyshev has been dropped by Wisniowski and is back in the next group.
The positions on the road look like this:
Pedersen completes the Varentstraat, the last cobbled section with a 25 second lead over Summerhill.
5k to go as Wisniowski is caught by the chasers. But they are still 1’14 behind Summerhill and 1’40 behind Pedersen, it looks like we will have a first-time winner of the Ronde van Vlaanderen.
3.6k to go and Per attacks the chase group.
Gerts follows Per as Altur leads the chase behind. Per has already reduced the gap to Summerhill to 30 seconds.
Per might have left it too late, Pedersen is under the 1k banner and his gap looks safe.
Pedersen has nothing left for a celebration but he has won the Ronde van Vlaanderen in style. Maybe we are entering the Pedersen era. Grieg’s decision to sell Wisniowski and focus on the Dane is looking pretty good right now. Pedersen is the 4th rider to do win both Milan San Remo and the Ronde in the same season (Ballan - 2011, Boonen - 2013, Bewley - 2015 and 2016)
Summerhill holds off the chasers and takes 2nd, for a while there he could dream of winning the Ronde for a second tine.
Per’s late attack nets him a podium finish.
Gerts just holds off the rest of the chase group to take 4th. He will be a little disappointed to finish one spot further back than last year.
Debesay, Wisniowski and Gamper take 5th, 6th and 7th. Gamper is the top PCT finisher, he will be one to watch in this race in the future.
Kamyshev beats Teunissen for 8th, Tinkoff lit up the race but will have hoped for a little more in terms of results.
The last two from the chase group, Altur and Kasperkiewicz, are dropped in the closing kilometers. and settle for 10th and 11th.
Ronde Van Vlaanderen 
