Everything you missed from a tough day of racing at De Ronde
The dust has settled, flags have been taken down, hundreds of fans have returned home and riders are nursing tired legs. For another year, the Tour of Flanders is over, and the cycling world moves on. It was a spectacular edition of arguably the best and biggest one-day race of the season, and Belgium once again showed up to welcome the men’s and women’s WorldTour pelotons to their holy day of cycling.
The men’s race began proceedings on sacred Sunday. Antwerp’s Grote Markt was bursting with thick crowds of people waving off a superstar line-up as they headed for 260-kilometres of Flandrian hills. Lidl-Trek’s main goal of the day was to protect team leader Mads Pedersen and position the Dane well so he was ready when the favourites took to the front. It was a job executed perfectly by the likes of Eddie Theuns and Mathias Vacek, with Pedersen making the elite selection of riders who broke away with just over 100-kilometres remaining.
Photo: Chris Auld
From this point on, it was a head-to-head battle of brute strength as attacks came relentlessly on the approach to the finish in Oudenaarde. The front group was steadily whittled down over cobbles and steep inclines, with Pedersen battling to stay in contention. On the second ascent of the Kwaremont, the former world champion lost contact with a group of three who broke away, led by Tadej Pogačar, but rode hard to the finish in Oudenaarde alongside Wout van Aert. In the end, Pedersen finished in fifth place overall – it was a display of resilience from the 30-year-old who showed he is still one of the best Classics riders of this generation despite a tricky start to the season coming back from his crash in Valencia. Pedersen and the entire team will take confidence in his performance ahead of Paris-Roubaix next weekend.
Pedersen said after the finish:
This was the best possible result. If there had been more in it, I would have finished better, right? I didn’t have any more left in the tank. We knew I would suffer on the climbs, and that was the case again today. It is what it is, it was solid. Now we look ahead to next week.
Photo: Anouk Flesch
The women’s race was a similarly attritional affair as the race opened up on the earlier climbs. With plenty of teams having an interest in thinning the peloton down, a fierce pace was set on the approach to the Koppenberg and a group of 20 riders broke away, with Lidl-Trek well-represented. Elisa Balsamo, Fleur Moors and Shirin van Anrooij all made the front selection, proving the team’s strength in depth after a successful Classics campaign so far.
In the end, the race was decided on the final ascent of the Oude Kwaremont when eventual race winner Vollering made her attack on the tough cobbled slopes. Sprinter Elisa Balsamo made a strong effort to follow the favourites at this crucial moment and impressed with her climbing performance. She finished in 13th place after a long chase into Oudenaarde, with Moors and Van Anrooij also inside the top-20. It was a valuable day of experience and learning for our women’s squad and plenty to build on for the season to come.
