Mathieu van der Poel soloed to his third Ronde van Vlaanderen title on Sunday, attacking past a floundering Ivan Garcia Cortina on the Koppenberg 45 km from the finish. With a hat trick, the Dutchman joins Fabian Cancellara, Tom Boonen and four others in a tie for most Tour of Flanders victories. Slippery conditions made for a chaotic day; both Canadian entrants crashed and Guillaume Boivin had to abandon.
After the finish van der Poel said, “I cannot think about Roubaix yet. I’m really really f****d at the moment. That’s one of the hardest races I’ve ever done.”
The Course
Awaiting the riders were seventeen climbs, most of them cobbled, in the latter half of 270 km. The formidable cobbled duo of Oude Kwaremont–Paterberg would be tackled twice and comprised the day’s final ascents. The Koppenberg, Taaienberg and Oude Kruisberg/Hotond were possible ambush points as well. The last Paterberg peaked 15 km from the finish line on the Minderbroedersstraat in Oudenaarde. It was rather slick out there.
One of the biggest days of the year has arrived 🤩
The 108th edition of #RVV24 is just minutes away – 270.8 kilometers and 17 climbs to crown the winner of the season’s second Monument. pic.twitter.com/9XYVrlHD1g
— Soudal Quick-Step Pro Cycling Team (@soudalquickstep) March 31, 2024
The Lineups
Hugo Houle and Guillaume Boivin were back in action for Israel-Premier Tech. Last year’s champion Tadej Pogacar was off training, the other podium men van der Poel and Mads Pedersen were the favorites, and the 2023 fourth place Wout van Aert was injured at Dwars door Vlaanderen.
An octet of fugitives got loose early, stopping after 68 km to let a train pass. With 128 km to go, Boivin and a few others crashed and the Canadian had to abandon the race. The attacks in the peloton increased between Wolvenberg and Molenberg. Pedersen, van der Poel and Matteo Jorgenson all made thrusts that were parried. With 90 km to go it was Houle’s turn to crash.
After Valkenberg, Pedersen attacked again and Gianni Vermeersch of Soudal-Quick Step joined in. Alpecin-Deceuninck chased.
By the first Oude Kwaremont-Paterberg coupling, the Dane and Belgian had 23 seconds on the peloton. Oier Lazcano and van der Poel caught them on Kwaremont.
Paterberg I was where Lazcano’s teammate Ivan Garcia Cortina skipped away. Cobbled…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Canadian Cycling Magazine…