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Tour of Flanders 2019

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Hello and welcome to the Cyclingnews live coverage. It's Tour of Flanders day!  

As the CN blimp takes flight, the crowd is already huge in the Antwerp Grote Martkt and the first teams are signing on. 

The weather is dry ands cool in northern Flanders but there is a slight risk of rain later. 

There is a huge crowd enjoying the sign-on, with each stage riding no stage for an introduction.  

"Look at that crowd. Wow! Thanks for coming put today," Matthews says.

This is the view in the Grote Markt. 

Next up is Team Sky.

Luke Rowe promised an aggressive race, while Dylan van Baarle is back. 

Matthews speaks after signing on. He's an outsider today but a real threat.

EF Education First is up next and Sep Vanmarcke is riding, despite his nasty crash last week. 

Taylor Phinney is filming a video on stage and the crowd give him a special hello. 

Sep Vanmarcke: "It's mostly about using this race as training for Paris-Roubaix. It's the moment to give some support back to the others."

EF Education First on stage. 

Next up is Jumbo-Visma with the new star of Flemish cycling Wout van Aert. 

Wout van Aert seemed focused but a little nervous.

Maarten Wynants on Jumbo-Visma's race plan: 

As the teams sign and are presented to the huge crowd, the minutes tick down to the start at 10:20. 

Oliver Naesen (AG2R) was a little ill but was smiling on stage.

Oliver Naesen: "If you're not keen to race today, then you'd better look for another job."

The Lotto Soudal team has opted to field Tim Wellens alongside Tiesj Benoot to take on their 'noisy neighbours' Deceuninck-QuickStep today. 

Peter Sagan is on stage with Bora-Hansgrohe.

An interesting stat from former CN man in Australia Zeb Woodpower: 

CCC Team is on stage, with Golden Greg van Avermaet getting a huge cheer. 

"Riding up the podium here with the tune of the White Stripes is an extra motivation, even though it's not needed." he said.

Who still has to sign on?

The DJ and speakers are building up the atmosphere as the riders roll on stage, calling on the crowd to jump.

The Deceuninck-QuickStep team are getting extra attention, including Bob Jungels.

Phil Gilbert: "Getting this warm welcome for the third year in a row is really special. It's not something we're used to." 

Yves Lampaert: "I slept well. I hope to be able to ride a good race."

Last on stage is Direct Energie and Niki Terpstra. 

Terpstra: "This was one of the biggest wins of my career, together with Paris-Roubaix.

All the times have signed on been presented to the crowd, now it's time to rock and roll. 

World Champion Alejandro Valverde is also racing today.

The riders are lining up on the yellow carpet, they roll out at 10:30, with the official start at 10:45 after a 9.3km neutralised section.  

Can this man pull of a huge debut win today? 

1 minute to roll out!

The skies are blue and there's virtually no wind today. It's going to be all about the racing. 

Here we go. It's time to roll! 

Most riders are smiling as they roll along in the neutralised section. They know it is a big day out. 

Bob Jungels: "To be honest I'm still quite calm. I'll be nervous when we get to the first climbs and the whole bunch gets nervous."

Zdenek Stybar: "You feel like a rockstar here it's very impressive.

The riders go under the Schelde, warming up the legs before the flag drops and race officially begins. 

Our reporters Sadhbh O'Shea, Patrick Fletcher, Barry Ryan, Josh Evans and our own Flandrien Brecht Decauwler, are on the ground in Belgium to bring you all the inside news, interviews and analysis post-race. 

The race director's car is upping the speed now.

The riders are packed tight behind the race director's car.  

The race heads south west from Antwerp towards southern Flanders and the finish in Oudenaarde.

270km remaining from 267km

Deceuninck-QuickStep is trying to control the pace but we have the first attack. 

A Roompot rider kicks first but the peloton follows him.

The peloton is lined out as the first attacks are chased down. 

264km remaining from 267km

Could it be Yves Lampaert's day? 

261km remaining from 267km

Meanwhile in Oudenaarde, the women's Tour of Flanders is also underway.

257km remaining from 267km

The race is on upfront, with Jesper Asselman of Roompot getting across to the trio. 

Jungels is chasing in the long line of team cars. He'll be back on soon enough. 

255km remaining from 267km

Tim Declercq of Deceuninck shuts him down.

Jolien D'Hoore of Boels-Dolmans is a surprise starter in the women's race. 

252km remaining from 267km

The race is approaching Sint Niklaas. It hosted the start for 20 years.

249km remaining from 267km

248km remaining from 267km

The gap is 1:50 but a Vital Concept rider decides to attacks, upsetting Tim Declerq. 

Flat number 2 for Deceuninck-QuickStep.

Kapser Asgreen needs a rear change. The mechanic uses a drill tool to open  the disc wheel and make a quick change.

DS Tom Steels give Asgreen a push off and he begins to chase.

And Stijn Steels - Tom's nephew now needs a bike change.

240km remaining from 267km

This was golden Greg at the start. 

236km remaining from 267km

Riders start to eat and drink, with others taking a natural break. 

233km remaining from 267km

Crash! 

Several rider go down on a corner. 

A touch of wheels and a slam on the brakes put several rider go down. 

The crash victims include Mike Teunissen.

Meanwhile there's a mass stop in the peloton for a natural break. Riders filled both side of the road as they stopped to 'raise the water table' as Rob Hayles explained on TV. 

230km remaining from 267km

Philippe Gilbert is first to start again, jokingly attacking to enjoy his first solid food of the day. 

228km remaining from 267km

This screen grab shows the crash that involved Mike Teunissen.

The races passes through Overmere as they head southwest. 

222km remaining from 267km

The team cars for the breakaway are trying to pass the peloton to go up to their riders.

216km remaining from 267km

Behind the riders in the peloton are taking on food and bidons and taking off their gilet and jackets.

212km remaining from 267km

The peloton has begun to chase or at least control the attack today.

208km remaining from 267km

Pascal Eenkhoorn is doing the work for Jumbo. 

In the women's race the riders are soon to hit the climbs. 

The seven are: 

199km remaining from 267km

196km remaining from 267km

The race is near Herzele, in 15km or os the riders will get their first taste of the cobbles in Lippenhovestraat. 

Coryn Rivera was one of several riders involved in a crash in the women's race  and Team Sunweb has confirmed she has had to abandon the race. 

185km remaining from 267km

The Lippenhovestraat cobbled section is 1.3km long.

The break hits the cobbles, it's the first of five sections in today''s 270km race.

The crowds are huge as the break also hits the 1500m Paddestraat section.  

181km remaining from 267km

Several rider go down as someone tries to hop away from the gap of death in the concrete roads.

Deceuninck lead the peloton on the cobbles, with three riders on the front for the Paddestraat section. 

177km remaining from 267km

There is now 30km until things step up another level for the Oude Kwaremont.

173km remaining from 267km

Sagan and Terpstra stopped and are riding back up to the peloton. 

The peloton hits the first feed zone with 166km to race.

164km remaining from 267km

The peloton have already raced 100km. 

160km remaining from 267km

Crash in the peloton!

Terpstra is down! 

Terpstra went down heavily. 

Terpstra is getting medical treatment. 

Terpstra moves his legs but his race seems over. 

Fortunately the medics were there within in seconds to help him. 

Terpstra went down hard but other riders noticed it and called for assistance.

 

154km remaining from 267km

The Oude Kwaremont is Helling / Côte 1 of 17. 

It's a race to the corner that leads to the Kwaremont.

A left turn funnels the peloton. but they all make it through. 

Hugo Houle (Astana) goes clear alone. He's enjoying the solo glory but will surely ease up at the top. 

The race will pass over the Oude Kwaremont two more times and is one of the strategic points in the race.

Here comes the peloton, squeezed into the lanes.  

The crowds will also get to see the women's race very soon.

Tim Declercq leads the peloton on the cobbled climb. These are his home roads.

Others are saving their legs and energy by riding deep in the peloton.

The TV camera spot Tom Boonen in the hospitality area. It must be more enjoyable drinking champagne and watching from the roadside than riding.

147km remaining from 267km

143km remaining from 267km

142km remaining from 267km

138km remaining from 267km

Team Sky is trying to slow the pace.

The pace is so slow that some riders are forced to put a foot down at the back.

This is an interesting ease in the racing. 

Behind some riders are doing track stands to avoid putting a foot down. 

Yevgeniy Gidich of Astana showed some great bike skills there.

134km remaining from 267km

134km remaining from 267km

Here comes Helling 3: the Ladeuze.

The break is on the Wolvenberg. It starts steep and then eases over the top. 615m long. It will hurt when the road turns to cobbles.  

In the women's race there is still 55km to race.

129km remaining from 267km

129km remaining from 267km

125km remaining from 267km

Next up is the Haaghoek cobbles and then the Leberg climb.

Jungles wisely moves from the gutter to centre of the road. 

122km remaining from 267km

The pace in the peloton increases on Haghoek. 

There is "reassuring news" to report on Terpstra, who is in hospital and has come around after his crash. Here's our story:

The breakaway riders hit the next climb, Berendries, which is tarmacked. 

117km remaining from 267km

No big moves in the peloton on the Leberg. They're on the approach to Berendries now.

It's Decueninck-QuickStep's trio of domestiques, Tim Declercq, Iljo Keisse, and Kasper Asgreen, who are leading the bunch at the moment. The rest of their riders are potential winners. 

They hit Berendries, another one that's lined with an impressive number of fans. Declercq lays down a steady tempo.

Attack from an FDJ rider

A strong attack and it has drawn out several riders.

Eight or nine riders up there as they move onto the wide roads beyond the top of the climb. There's a gap back to the rest of the bunch.

Jasper Philipsen crashes but is back on his bike.

A few more riders come across to that split. The peloton is strung out behind.

We can't see any big names in there. Van Hooydonck is there for CCC and Asgreen for QuickStep. 

Philipsen slid out on a left-hand bend and went into a roadside barrier. He seems ok to continue but that was a pretty hard crash. 

Moscon is up there in this small break from the peloton. They're 15 seconds ahead at the moment. 

110km remaining from 267km

At the top of Tenbosse their lead is down to 3:05

109km remaining from 267km

As you were. Declercq is back on the front of the bunch on Tenbosse. 

And now an attack from Dries De Bondt (Corendon-Circus)

De Bondt was the rider who attacked with Van der Poel early on at Dwars. He draws some riders out and the bunch strings out over the top. But no real splits.

With Tenbosse out of the way, the riders are now heading towards the mighty Muur van Geraardsbergen. 

105km remaining from 267km

Jonas Van Genechten (Vital Concept) crashes into a ditch but it's a soft landing and he's ok. 

The pace is high in the peloton and teams are already jostling for position ahead of the Muur. It's a long way out, but can still be important. Two years ago a key selection was formed there, from which Gilbert later slipped clear to claim a solo victory. 

Sunweb have moved their riders to the front and are currently setting the pace on the right-hand side of the road.

100km remaining from 267km

The break is just 1:30 ahead now.

The Muur-Kapelmuur: 475m at 9.3 %, max 19.8 %.

Stybar is up front, as is Trentin.  

They are lined out up past the chapel.  

No real selection this year but the pace is high. It's only going to get higher. 

98km remaining from 267km

There is now 30km to Helling/Côte 9: Kanarieberg but they are trying to shake out the peloton.

There's a clear split in the peloton, forcing the others to chase.  

95km remaining from 267km

Also there is Mohirc, Oss, van Aert, Bettiol. 

The peloton is big but can they close the gap. It all depends on the balance of power in the groups. 

The group is about to catch the early break.

Team Sky have three riders up front. 

There are even attacks from the front group now. 

They include Van Aert and van der Poel. 

90km remaining from 267km

Both Vanmarcke and Naesen are in the chase group. 

89km remaining from 267km

Lampaerts is also there for Deceuninck.  

Lotto Soudal and Groupama missed the move and are leading the chase. 

86km remaining from 267km

There are 16km to race in the women's race. We're going to focus on that, and keep you informed of the men's race. 

Vos has a rear flat, that's a blow for her.

The Kwaremont proved to be vital in the women's race. 

Also there are Van Vleuten, Ludwig, Van Vleuten and Udwig.

They're on the Paterberg, and three go clear. 

The chasers are just behind though. 

Chantal Blaak and Ellen van Dijk are leading the chase. 

12km remaining from 267km

In the men's race, riders in the front group keeps attacking each other but are still a minute clear of the peloton.

In the women's race Van Vleuten, Uttrup Ludwig and Bastianelli lead by 30 seconds now. 

The four chasers can see them with just 7km to go but the leading trio are working together and all want a place on the podium.

Van Vleuten seems to be hurting but she can never be ignored.  

The trio lead by 20 seconds. 

In the men's race they hit the Kanarieberg climb. Mohoric is off the front as the front group is caught by the peloton.

It's gruppo compatto just before the Oude Kwaremont is climbed again.

3km to go in the women's race.

Van Vleuten, Ludwig and Bastianelli still lead by 20 seconds. 

Van Vleuten kicks again but Bastianelli s on her wheel. 

Van Vlueten slows, forcing Bastianelli to lead. 

Last km! 

Van Vleuten kicks again!

But Bastianelli chasers her down and close the gap.

She's in tears after crossing the line. 

Van Vleuten is disappointed but heads to the podium to be confirmed in second place.

Behind several groups sprint for the minor placings.

Bastianelli thanks her teammates and explains her race. 

"It was really hard for me today. I've won big races but this is the biggest win for me," she said.

The top ten confirms Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig was third in the sprint, with Sofia Bertizzolo winning the sprint for fourth place behind. 

Click here for the full women's race report and photo gallery. 

60km remaining from 267km

Van der Poel has a flat, he eases up, waves for a service but then crashes over the bars after hitting a pot-hole.  

Is his race over? Perhaps.

He was waving frantically for a wheel when he crashed. He panicked instead of staying focused. 

Van der Poel is back chasing, with a teammate, but the race is about to explode on the Kwaremont. 

Stijn Vandenbergh (AG2R)  edges away on the early slopes. 

57km remaining from 267km

Asgreen leads the peloton but is suffering. 

Everyone is going deep on the cobbled climb. 

Yet some how, van der Poel is chasing and moving past many in the peloton. His race is not over just yet. But will he pay a price for the chase? 

After the Kwaremont, the attack is on the fast main road. 

54km remaining from 267km

Before the race, van der Poel spoke briefly to Cyclingnews. 

Vanmarcke and Vandenbergh hit the Paterberg!  

53km remaining from 267km

There's still lots of climbs to come but for many riders. the race is over. 

51km remaining from 267km

Upfront Asgreen has joined Vanmarcke and Vandenbergh. But the chase is on.

48km remaining from 267km

46km remaining from 267km

There are at least 120 riders in the peloton but many will spat out the back very soon. The Koppenberg is a cruel, cruel climb after 220km of racing.

45km remaining from 267km

Next up is the 2000m long Mariaborrestraat 2000m section of cobbles. 

42km remaining from 267km

As they hit the Mariaborrestraat cobbles, the group comes back together but the four lead by 20 seconds. 

40km remaining from 267km

Van Baarle looks strong in the attack and Vandenberg cracks.  

Gaviria and Oss have been gapped from the big chase group. The hard racing and distance is taking its toll now.  

37km remaining from 267km

Stuyven, Naesen, Sagan, Kristoff and Betttiol are there. 

36km remaining from 267km

Gaviria is behind the group but Kristoff is there. We spoke to him at the start.

There are a lot of favourites, will that play to your advantage?

34km remaining from 267km

But the 2.5km long Kruisberg/Hotond is coming up.

30km remaining from 267km

Degenkolb edges off the front of the chase group. 

Bike change for Naesen! just as the climb begins. Tragic for him.

He's chasing in the cars but will be panicking a little. 

Pieter Weening (Roompot-Charles) is with Degenkolb but soon distances him.

29km remaining from 267km

Van der Poel is there on Jungels wheel. He's back in the race for sure. 

Valverde, van Avermaet and Stybar are also there. 

28km remaining from 267km

Jungels surges on the top of the climb but it cracks Stybar.

26km remaining from 267km

25km remaining from 267km

24km remaining from 267km

Everyone is tired and on their limits. There are just 15 riders in the chase group now.  

Kristoff is there too. 

So is Michael Matthews (Team Sunweb). He spoke to CN at the start. 

 

21km remaining from 267km

19km remaining from 267km

19km remaining from 267km

The cobbles bite and van Avermaet is leading the chase.

Jens Keukeleire is also working hard on the front for Benoot. 

18km remaining from 267km

Bettiol spins his legs and closes the gap on van Baarle. 

17km remaining from 267km

Lampaert fights his way on to the tail of the group.

16km remaining from 267km

Van Avermaet leads the chase but Langeveld is there to block for EF. 

15km remaining from 267km

14km remaining from 267km

Bettiol is strong but so are the big-name chasers behind.

Van Averamet and Van Aert lead the chase.

Sagan is there but is suffering.

13km remaining from 267km

Van der Poel is closed down by the other chasers. 

12km remaining from 267km

Asgreen tries to chase for Deceuninck. He has Lampaert and Jungels there. But neither are fast finishers.

11km remaining from 267km

10km remaining from 267km

Lampaert does a turn and moves off, Sagan does the same. 

9km remaining from 267km

They're still racing each other behind or fighting for the podium places.

Benoot jumps away but Langeveld marks him for EF.  

7km remaining from 267km

6km remaining from 267km

4km remaining from 267km

There's a slight head wind but that is also slowing the chasers.

Now Sagan tries to inspire the chase but it's not enough. Others won't come through. 

3km remaining from 267km

2km remaining from 267km

1km remaining from 267km

Bettiol was second in the final Tirreno-Adriatico TT, he know how to ride hard.

Bettiol can see the finishline! 

He's going to win the Tour of Flanders!

Alberto Bettiol wins !!!

Asgreen takes second, with Kristoff winning the sprint for third.

"I still can't believe it," Bettiol says in Italian. 

Incredibly it was Bettiol’s first professional victory.

"I still can't believe it," Bettiol said.

It's a double victory for Italy at the Tour of Flanders after Marta Bastianelli won the women's race.

Bettiol savoured his win, touching his EF logo on his jersey and then pointing to his eyes, as if to say watch out for us.

This is the top ten of the 2019 Tour of Flanders.

This is one of the first images of Bettiol winning the men's Tour of Flanders.

Now it's time for the podium ceremony of both the men and women's races. 

It was Bettiol's first professional victory but we should remember how he finished third on the uphill finish at Tirreno-Adriatico, was second in the final TT and then attacked on the Poggio.

He was also fourth at the E3 BinckBank Classic after going in the decisive move.

Marta Bastianelli climbs on the top step of the women's podium after she beat Anniemiek van Vleuten and Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig. 

They celebrate with a selfie.

Now it's the men's turn. Kristoff, Asgreen take the lower steps before Bettiol climbs on the top step as the winner. 

He lifts the winner's trophy and celebrates!

They open the champagne with Bettiol savouring his big win. 

Now Bettiol and Bastianelli pose together on the podium.

Here's a shot of Bettiol as he rode to victory.

Alberto Bettiol struggled to believe what he had done but wanted to celebrate with his EF Education First teammates.

He continued: 

To read out full race report and see our massive photo gallery, click here. 

Ten years after Alessandro Ballan's win, an Italian strikes at the Tour of Flanders.

After the finish, as Bettiol and EF celebrated, the other teams were left trying to understand how they missed out. 

According to excellent Twitter statistician @ammattipyöräily, Alberto Bettiol (25y 160d) is the youngest Ronde van Vlaanderen winner since Tom Boonen who was 24y 170d when he won in 2005.

What a day, what a race. With so many stories to tell. We will have them all on Cyclingnews in the next few hours and into next week from our team on the ground in Flanders.

The Belgians again missed at in the Ronde but praised Bettiol for his win.

Oliver Naesen (AG2R) was the best Belgian in seventh place. Van Aert was 14th in the sprint for the podium spot, while Greg van Avermaet (CCC Team) was tenth. 

Greg Van Avermaet saw another chance to win his favourite race go up in smoke. Nevertheless, he also admitted that he was beaten fair and square today.

Van Avermaet was teammate of Bettiol last year at BMC but was not too impressed.

Here is Bettiol on the podium.

This shot shows Bettiol and Bastianelli celebrating a big day for Italy at the Tour of Flanders.

Peter Sagan was modest in defeat. He finished 11th in the sprint, 17 seconds behind Bettiol.

Alexander Kristoff (UAE) was happy to add third place to his win at Gent-Wevelgem.

We'll have lots of reaction, interviews and race analysis in the next few hours and days on Cyclingnews. 

To read our full report and see the photo gallery of the women's race, click here. 

 

We're going to sign off with this image of Bettiol and Bastianelli together on the podium. 

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