©AlpecinFenix
Ronde van Vlaaderen: Van der Poel thwarts Pogacar
With Van Aert a non-participant due to the Covid, a Pogacar / Van der Poel duel was expected on Sunday in Antwerp. The two men lived up to expectations by dropping their breakaway companions 17 kilometers from the finish in Oudenaarde. But by playing poker too much between themselves in the final run up to the line, the two men were joined 300 meters from the finish by Madouas and Van Baarle. Though Van der Poel put down the rebellion, Pogacar was blocked in the sprint and pushed off the podium. The winner in 2020, Van der Poel savored his second victory at the Monument: “It’s a shame that Pogacar didn’t get on the podium. Maybe he was the strongest, he was very aggressive. Maybe I had the advantage of having already experienced this situation on the Tour of Flanders. I experienced this in my last two participations so I kind of knew what to do.”
In the women’s category, Belgian Champion Lotte Kopecky won the event for the first time.
The results:
Men: 1. Mathieu Van der Poel (Alpecin-Fénix), 2. Dylan Van Baarle (Ineos Grenadiers), 3. Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ)…
Women: 1. Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx), 2. Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar), 3. Chantal van den Broeck-Blaak (Movistar)…
*****
Dwars door Vlaaderen: Van der Poel gaining momentum
The Dutchman from Alpecin-Fénix posted his second victory in the event on Wednesday after already winning at Waregem in 2019. At the end of a lively race from all sides, Van der Poel passed under the flame rouge along with his seven breakaway companions before winning the sprint: “I certainly didn’t feel like I was the strongest in the leading group. Certainly, Tom Pidcock and Tiesj Benoot made a good impression, but I was always there when needed. Maybe the team rode a little too early, because we lost riders quickly. But I’m glad I was able to finish it off. I think I did a perfect sprint.”
The results:
Men: 1. Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fénix), 2. Tiesj Benoot (Jumbo-Vista), 3. Thomas Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers)…
Women: 1. Chiara Consonni (Valcar – Travel & Service), 2. Julie De Wilde (Plantur-Pura), 3. Elise Chabbey (Canyon/SRAM Racing)…
*****
La route Adélie de Vitré: First victory for Zingle
At 23, Axel Zingle earned his first professional victory on Friday by winning the 26th edition of La route Adélie de Vitré. Seventh in Cholet-Pays de Loire ten days earlier, the native of Mulhouse was able to display the control to win in a race marked by difficult weather conditions. “I’m very happy, I was looking forward to this first victory among the pros,” said Axel Zingle. “I knew I had it in my legs, but I didn’t expect to win. It’s even more beautiful since we did such a great race as a team.”
The results: 1. Axel Zingle (Cofidis), 2. Dorian Godon (AG2R Citroën), 3. Valentin Ferron (TotalEnergies)…
*****
Gran Premio Miguel Indurain: Barguil spirals upwards
On Saturday, a photo-finish was necessary to decide between Warren Barguil and Aleksandr Vlasov after a breathless sprint. Vlasov thought he had the victory when he raised his arms at the line. But in reality it was Barguil who won his second victory of the season: “I don’t win a lot and now I have already won twice this year after my victory over at Tirreno-Adriatico. I think it’s the positive spiral of the Arkéa-Samsic team (8th victory) that also gives us this confidence. I’m coming back to a good level, I’m making the right choices… It’s simply the right spiral!” Barguil said.
The results: 1. Warren Barguil (Team Arkéa-Samsic), 2. Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora-Hansgrohe), 3. Simon Clarke (Israël Premier tech)…
*****
Volta Limburg Classic: Make it three for De Lie
The 20-year-old Belgian Arnaud De Lie is definitely not suffering from any complexes in his first year as a professional. On the contrary, he posted his third victory of the season on Saturday in Limburg. In the final, the rider from the Lotto-Soudal U23 team intelligently out-maneuvered his five breakaway companions and thus confirmed his good condition at the moment.
The results: 1. Arnaud De Lie (Lotto-Soudal), 2. Stefano Oldani (Alpecin-Fénix), 3. Loïc Vliegen (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux)…
*****
The races to come:
Itzulia Basque Country 4/04 www.itzulia.eus/en/itzulia/
Circuit cycliste Sartre – Pays de la Loire 5/04 www.sarthe.fr/circuit-cycliste-sarthe-pays-de-la-loire
Scheldeprijs 6/04 www.scheldeprijs.be
Amstel Gold Race 10/04 www.amstel.nl