Alberto Bettiol wins the Tour of Flanders

ByFelix Lowe

Updated 08/04/2019 at 08:35 GMT

Italy’s Alberto Bettiol (EF Education First) soloed to his first professional win with a bold and brilliant victory in the prestigious Ronde van Vlaanderen on Sunday. The 25-year-old got the better of a select leading group of around 20 riders with a decisive attack on the Oude Kwaremont climb with 18 kilometres of the 270km race remaining.

Bettiol maintained a small gap going over the Paterberg – the last of 17 climbs – with just over 13km remaining. And with no cohesion in the chasing group behind, the Italian was able to win one of the biggest races on the cycling calendar in style.

Watch the final kilometre as Bettiol holds on to win the Tour of Flanders

Denmark’s Kasper Asgreen (Deceuninck-QuickStep) broke clear of the chasing group inside the closing moments to take a well-deserved second place after starring in an earlier break.

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Norway’s Alexander Kristoff, the 2015 champion from UAE Team Emirates, won the sprint for third place ahead of the irrepressible Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel of Corendon-Circus, who crashed heavily with 60km remaining before fighting back into contention.

Bettiol’s win came despite the presence in the leading group of former winners Kristoff and Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe), Belgian stars Greg Van Avermaet (CCC Team), Tiesj Benoot (Lotto Soudal), Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) and Oliver Naesen (Ag2R-La Mondiale), and the world champion Alejandro Valverde (Movistar).

It marked the first Monument win for EF Education First – renowned for their eye-catching pink jerseys – for the best part of five years, and came after some exceptional and selfless teamwork from Bettiol’s team-mates Sep Vanmarcke and Sebastian Langeveld.

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"I still don't believe it,” an emotional Bettiol said after the finish in Oudenaarde. “I was feeling really good on the Kwaremont, I closed my eyes and just went. I looked back and had a good gap so I kept on pushing.

“After the Paterberg I was still in the lead. It was the longest 14km in my life. But I knew that I had Sebastian Langeveld behind me working hard. We are a really good team and from now on you should look more on the front for the pink."

Four-man break

After a couple of failed breakaway attempts, the day’s move formed after around 15km when Canada’s Hugo Houle (Astana) rode clear with Frenchman Damien Touze (Cofidis) and Belgium's Kenneth Van Rooy (Sport Vlaanderen). The escapees were shortly joined by Dutchman Jesper Asselman (Roompot-Charles) before the quartet opened up a maximum lead of over eight minutes.

Back on the front of the peloton the race settled as the Deceuninck-QuickStep, Jumbo-Visma and Ag2R-La Mondiale put men on pacing duties with sporadic help from Bora-Hansgrohe and Direct Energie.

The gap dropped to under seven minutes when the leaders hit the first cobbled section, the Lippenhovestraat, with 185km remaining.

How the race was won: live comments and analysis

Terpstra out ahead of the climbs

With just under 160km remaining, and the first of three ascents of the Oude Kwaremont fast approaching, a touch-of-wheels in the middle peloton brought down a handful of riders including the reigning champion Niki Terpstra (Direct Energie).

The Dutchman looked to have been knocked unconscious by the fall but was later seen moving his legs while receiving attention. However, Terpstra’s race was over after a split-second incident which has also ruled him out of next Sunday’s Paris-Roubaix.

Meanwhile, Houle got a little carried away by the crowd cheering on the race on the Oude Kwaremont, the Astana rider drifting clear of his fellow escapees to crest the summit with a small gap before sitting up for the chasing trio.

With the retired triple champion Tom Boonen among the fans on the climb, the peloton edged its way up the first of 17 climbs with Luke Rowe’s Team Sky setting the tempo as the gap dropped to five minutes.

Fireworks on the Muur

Denmark’s Magnus Cort (Astana) led the charge on the infamous Muur van Geraardsbergen with 100km remaining as the advantage of the break came down to one minute. The acceleration strung out the peloton, which soon split in two catching out a handful of big names.

Belgians Philippe Gilbert (Deceuninck-QuickStep), Oliver Naesen (Ag2R-La Mondiale) and Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal) were all distanced as the gap stretched to over a minute.

On the front, the leaders were reeled in before another quartet formed around Belgian champion Yves Lampaert (Deceuninck-QuickStep). The likes of Sagan, European champion Matteo Trentin, cyclo-cross stars Van Aert and Van der Poel, as well as veteran world champion Valverde, all looked strong.

But the peloton had come back together by the time Slovenia’s Matej Mohoric (Bahrain Merida) soloed clear ahead of the first of two dual ascents of the Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg.

As the battle for positions intensified ahead of the climbs, Van der Poel crashed heavily after picking up a double puncture at speed – the 24-year-old Dutch champion forced to chase back on as the race split once again on the Oude Kwaremont.

Asgreen joins Belgian duo

Belgians Stijn Vanderbergh (Ag2R-La Mondiale) and Sep Vanmarcke (EF Education First) rode clear on the Kwaremont and maintained a small gap over the Paterberg before being joined by Denmark’s Kasper Asgreen (Deceuninck-QuickStep).

With team-mate Gilbert, the 2017 winner, very much out of contention, Asgreen showed his class as he led the leading trio over the iconic Koppenberg. Behind, Dutchman Dylan van Baarle (Team Sky) led the chase, while Van der Poel showed his class in a pained battle to get back into contention.

Van Baarle caught the leaders with 40km remaining and shortly before the rangy Vandenbergh was tailed off. The trio’s advantage never stretched out above the 25-second mark after constant attacks from behind kept the pace high among the chasers.

Bettiol makes his move

EF Education First entered the business end of the race with multiple options with Vanmarcke up the road and both Bettiol and Langeveld part of a strong chasing group of around 20 riders.

Ahead of the final Kwaremont-Paterberg double, Vanmarcke dropped back to help set tempo for his team-mates as Bettiol put in a dig on the Kwaremont, catching Van Baarle and Asgreen before the summit.

The Italian stretched out his lead on the wide, rolling main road before the narrow drop down to the Paterberg, taking advantage of a lull in the chase behind.

Belgians Van Avermaet, Naesen and Van Aert were all active on the Paterberg, but it was Van der Poel – back in with a shout after his nasty fall – who surged clear near the summit and crossed in second place behind the lone leader.

But a lack of cohesion in the chase meant Bettiol could stretch his lead out to 25 seconds as the race approached Oudenaarde.

With 2km remaining, Asgreen threw the dice in a late move which would secure him second place – 14 seconds down on the worthy winner – while Kristoff took the scraps for third place ahead of the 15-man group which came home three seconds back.

Bettiol was able to soak up the atmosphere as he rode home to secure his first professional win in some style before some emotional scenes at the finish.

Tour of Flanders debutants Van der Poel, Matthews and Valverde all made the top 10 but the day belonged to the strongest rider over the cobbled bergs of Flanders – that man Bettiol, whose victory ensured that he'll no longer be granted outsider status.

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