A thrilling finish saw time and space shrink like a concertina, one moment Julian Alaphilippe and Jacob Fuglsang were going to sprint for the race, then Michał Kwiatkowski caught them in the final kilometre and seconds later they were all swamped by a chase group led by Mathieu van der Poel who kept going to win the sprint.
Classics
Amstel Gold Race Preview
Beer, sunshine and big crowds for a bike race. The Amstel Gold Race a good formula even if it’s the young upstart of the spring classics in relative terms, having only begun in 1966. It marks the change from the flat classics to the hillier races and there’s a broad field with grand tour contenders tuning up for summer and cobbled classics specialists having a last hurrah. Here’s a race preview with the usual look at the course, contenders, TV times and more.
The Cobbled Classics Revelations
With the cobbles done and dusted for another year, a quick retrospective on some of the new names who emerged during the season.
The Moment Paris-Roubaix Was Won
Philippe Gilbert beats Nils Politt in the sprint in the Roubaix velodrome. He seemed the fresher for the sprint, but in a race packed with action and drama nothing could be taken for granted until the final metres when it was clear he was ahead and able to sit up for the victory salute.
Paris-Roubaix Preview
Full stop, period, point. The cobbled classics season lasts for weeks and every time there’s always the consolation of the next race, if the E3 didn’t work out there’s Gent-Wevelgem and then the Ronde and each race can be used for training, a stepping stone to the next. This time there’s nothing more, reach Roubaix and the game of stones is done for 2019.
The Moment The Ronde Was Won
Alberto Bettiol surges out of the lead group on the Oude Kwaremont just as the breakaway pair of Dylan van Baarle and Kasper Asgreen are about to be a caught. Behind the group is a constellation of star names but none of them can shape events from this point on and Bettiol quickly takes a 20 second lead which he’d keep until he sat up to celebrate.
Ronde van Vlaanderen Preview
It’s Deceuninck-Quickstep versus the rest again this Sunday as the home team take on all comers, including Peter Sagan, Greg Van Avermaet, Wout van Aert and Oliver Naesen. It’s live on TV from start to finish and takes plance in front of an estimated million of roadside fans, an event of national importance to the Belgians.
The Moment Milan-Sanremo Was Won
Was the winning moment when Julian Alaphilippe attacked on the Poggio to go clear with a small group of riders and eliminating the threat of a bunch sprint, or when he launched his sprint from the group that reached Sanremo? It was a commanding performance and from here the sprint seems more crucial for just as Alaphilippe jumps, Peter Sagan is languishing too far back.
Milan-Sanremo Preview
This Saturday’s Milan-Sanremo is all about is tense finish, the paradox of the longest race of the year that’s often decided in the final metres, a race where every pedal stroke counts and the list of contenders and pretenders is long as grand tour contenders, classics specialists and sprinters start with ambitions. Who will ride the perfect race?