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Armitstead and Sagan win Tour of Flanders, Houle in day’s breakaway

Sagan tour of flander
April 3, 2016
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It was an unique Sunday at the Tour of Flanders when the men’s and women’s races were both won by world champions. Lizzie Armitstead (Great Britain/Boels-Dolmans) continued her great WorldTour, taking the women’s honours in a two-up sprint, while Peter Sagan (Slovakia/Tinkoff) went solo on the final climb of the day to hoist his first winner’s flowers in Oudenaarde, Belgium, after a crash-marred contest.

In the women’s race, no breakaway was able to get away for the first 70-km of the course, until two riders escaped on the cobbles of the Paddestraat. The duo was brought back and a select group of eleven took off on the Oude de Kwaremont with 20-km to go. Emma Johannson (Sweden/Wiggle-High5) attacked on the road leading to the Paterberg and only Lizzie Armitstead (Great Britain/Boels-Dolmans) went with her.

The two shuttled over the Paterberg and continued on in the lead with the pack getting closer before the finale in Oudenaarde. Johannson started the sprint, but world champion Armitstead powered by the Swede and threw her bike, adding the Tour of Flanders to her 2016 palmares of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Strade Bianche, and the Trofeo Alfredo Binda.


The first hour of the men’s competition was fast and no breakaway was able to separate itself. Finally a sextet got away with Canadian Hugo Houle (AG2R) in the mix. Just after the first passage of the Oude Kwaremont a crash in the peloton saw Milan-San Remo champion Arnaud Démare (France/FDJ) have to abandon. Soon after, another crash took out Lotto-Soudal’s young Tiejs Benoot (Belgium).

Sky’s pace on the Molenberg climb and Paddestraat cobbles brought the gap to the break down to a minute. And then another bad crash brought one of the favourites, Greg Avermaet (Belgium/BMC), to grief.

Race vehicles proved to be dangerous not only to riders, as a car hit a mechanic.

The breakaway began to splinter as Andre Greipel (Germany/Lotto-Soudal) attacked from the peloton. Houle had dropped away from the break, but with the impetus of Greipel, the Canadian latched back on just before the Kaperij. The gap grew again after a feed zone.

A chase of Stijn Vandenberg (Belgium/Etixx-QuickStep) and Dylan Van Baarle (The Netherlands/Cannondale) flared away. The mighty Koppenberg with 45-km to go saw the remaining favourites at the front of the peloton while a stall made dozens of riders at the tail walk. The Koppenberg once more had the breakaway crumbling, with Greipel and three others in the lead, but the Vandenberg chase, which had grown, made the junction and doubled the numbers to eight men.

On the cobbled Steenbeekdries climb, Ian Stannard (Great Britain/Sky) attacked and chaos reigned as dig after dig flared off from the peloton. The short but steep Taaienberg was where Van Baarle tried to get away as the peloton edged to 50-seconds behind.

After several climbs set close together there was a 9-km “break” before the final “Holy Trinity” of Kruisberg (2.5-km of 5%, maximum of 9%), Oude-Kwaremont (2.2-km of 4%, maximum 11.6%) and the Paterberg (.36-km of 12.9%, maximum 20.3%), the latter coming with 13-km remaining.

The Greipel quintet was 53-seconds ahead of the Stannard chase and 1:10 behind the Sagan/Cancellara peloton. Then Sagan pressed the issue before the Kruisberg, taking Michal Kwiatkowski (Poland/Sky) and Gent-Wevelgem runner-up Sep Vanmarcke (Belgium/LottoNL-Jumbo) with him in a powerful chase. The men in the peloton let Cancellara do the yeoman’s work to bring Sagan et al back.

The Sagan chase caught Greipel and company with 23.5-km to go. The peloton was 36-seconds behind. By the foot of the Kwaremont, the gap was 25-seconds, with Katusha leading the Cancellara group. Cancellara initiated the catch on the Kwaremont soon after Greipel fell away. Only Sagan and Vanmarcke were left from the break as Cancellara zoomed through the field.

Sagan and Vanmarcke stayed ahead on the roads leading to the final climb. Cancellara received reinforcements, some of which were left over from the breakaway. The leading duo bumped up the Paterberg, with the Cancellara chase 18-seconds behind. Sagan then powered away from Vanmarcke and dropped down the other side like he stole something.

Cancellara and Vanmarcke united in an effort to pull back the world champion 14-seconds up the road. The gap grew as Vanmarcke stopped working. Fans around the world sat on the edge of their seats. Vanmarcke reconsidered and took his turn. With 7-km remaining the gap was 17-seconds.

There was no denying the world champion, who pulled out more time to win back-to-back Classics after his Gent-Wevelgem victory last week. He had plenty of time to celebrate at the line.

Cancellara was runner-up.

2016 Women’s Tour of Flanders
1) Lizzie Armitstead (Great Britain/Boels-Dolmans) 3:43:27
2) Emma Johannson (Sweden/Wiggle-High5) s.t.
3) Chantal Blaak (The Netherlands/Boels-Dolmans) +0:02
18) Joëlle Numainville (Canada/Cervélo-Bigla) +2:03
42) Alison Jackson (Canada/Twenty16) +3:26
55) Leah Kirchman (Canada/Liv-Plantur) s.t.
99) Lex Albrecht (Canada/Bepink) +11:15
DNF) Annie Ewart (Canada/UnitedHealthcare)

2016 Tour of Flanders
1) Peter Sagan (Slovakia/Tinkoff) 6:10:42
2) Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland/Trek-Segafredo) +0:25
3) Sep Vanmarcke (Belgium/LottoNL-Jumbo) +0:27
52) Antoine Duchesne (Canada/Direct Energie) +7:19
109) Ryan Anderson (Canada/Direct Energie) +12:48
111) Hugo Houle (Canada/AG2R) s.t.
DNF) Svein Tuft (Canada/Orica-GreenEdge)

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