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Tour of Flanders – Live coverage

Tour of Flanders 2020 route

Men's Tour of Flanders profile (Image credit: Flanders Classics)

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Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the 2020 Tour of Flanders, a bit later than usual this year...

Riders are currently signing in in Antwerp ahead of the race start which comes in a matter of minutes.

It's a grim and dull day in Antwerp as the riders start the neutralised zone. The riders are all wrapped up in their warmers and over-jerseys.

Off they go!

There are a few big names missing – Philippe Gilbert (Lotto Soudal) and Greg Van Avermaet (CCC Team) miss out with injury, Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) is at the Giro d'Italia and mooted debutant Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) ended his season early – but the start list is still packed.

Defending champion Alberto Bettiol leads EF Pro Cycling. World champion Julian Alaphilippe leads Elegant-QuickStep and has super-strong backup in Kasper Asgreen, Yves Lampaert and Zdenek Štybar.

243km to go

There were no fans at the start, reports our man on the ground, Brecht Decaluwé. Hopefully fans stay away from the rest of the race to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Race organisers Flanders Classics didn't publish the route ahead of the time in order to help with this.

We'll have some quotes from the start once things calm down a little at the front of the race.

236km to go

The peloton is strung out here with the pace high at the front.

We have stories from Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert, two of the main favourites today, and two men who came to verbal blows after a heated Gent-Wevelgem finale. Check out what they had to say in the lead-up to Flanders below.

229km to go

A group of nine has a small gap but Israel Start-Up Nation have a man on the front of the peloton trying to bring it back.

...and that group is brought back. Circus-Wanty Gobert leads the counter-attacking.

223km to go

A small group of five up front now, with a few couples of riders chasing across the gap.

UAE Team Emirates director Allan Peiper just took an unexpected phone call in the team car. "Look mate I'm just in the Ronde van Vlaanderen in the car. Call tomorrow sometime," he says.

Six men up front now with a small gap. Elegant-QuickStep (yes, they've temporarily changed their name for the race) try to block the front of the peloton as team leader Julian Alaphilippe sorts a mechanical behind.

Gregor Mühlberger (Bora-Hansgrohe), Samuele Battistella (NTT Pro Cycling), Danny van Poppel (Circus-Wanty Gobert), Gijs Van Hoecke (CCC Team), Dimitri Peyskens (Bingoal-Wallonie Bruxelles), Fabio Van Den Bossche (Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise) are in the move, 25 seconds up on the peloton as Julien Vermote (Cofidis) chases.

214km to go

All calm at the front of the peloton as the riders take a drink and some food, letting the break ride away.

210km to go

Trek-Segafredo and Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise lead the peloton as the gap goes out to 3:40.

Taco van der Hoorn (Jumbo-Visma) leads the peloton ahead of Trek-Segafredo. Five minutes to the break now, as Kasper Asgreen (Elegant-QuickStep) drops back to the team car to put on a second over-jersey.

Some quotes from the start coming up now. First up, Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix)...

And his long-time cyclo-cross and road rival Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma)...

192km to go

Sep Vanmarcke (EF Pro Cycling) at the start:

186km to go

Mark Cavendish (Bahrain McLaren):

Tom Van Asbroeck (Israel Start-Up Nation) stops at the side of the road to kiss his wife and say hello to his kids before getting going again.

174km to go

Alaphilippe: I'm not a real Flandrien but I've got my heart set on Tour of Flanders

160km to go

A crash in the break! Mühlberger tries to throw a musette to the side of the road but gets it caught on his handlebars and hits the ground. He's back up and running now.

It's the first climb of the day for the break now, the Katteberg east of Oudenaarde. It's 500 metres long at an average of seven per cent.

142km to go

Mühlberger's crash...

Mühlberger is on a Shimano neutral service bike at the moment, a rare sight. He's looking around, presumably for his team car to get a replacement.

133km to go

The riders are approaching the Oude Kwaremont, which comes at 123km to go. It's almost the halfway point of De Ronde.

Yet another puncture. This time it's Silvan Dillier (AG2R La Mondiale).

Team Sunweb have massed on the front of the peloton now as they approach Oude Kwaremont. Tiesj Benoot and Søren Kragh Andersen are their leaders.

126km to go

Van Hoecke leads the break all the way up and over the top. The peloton are about to start Oude Kwaremont.

123km to go

We're past the halfway point of the race now. 7:10 between break and peloton.

114km to go

Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal), Maurits Lammertink (Circus-Wanty Gobert), Amund Jansen (Jumbo-Visma) plus a rider apiece from Bahrain McLaren and Movistar were also involved.

Ah, it was actually two separate incidents. Van Aert was trying to move up the peloton and was forced to slow, catching a wheel and slowly falling down the verge. Further back, the other men were involved in a different crash across the road.

Van Aert chases back on as part of a small group. Wellens is still coming back.

108km to go

The break reach the top of Eikenberg having ridden up the tarmac strip on the side of the road.

105km to go

The barriers came back up pretty quickly and the peloton got through without much delay. Meanwhile, the break start Wolvenberg (645 metres at 7.9 per cent).

Owain Doull (Ineos Grenadiers) leads the peloton up Eikenberg.

The break passes the Holleweg section of cobbles and it looks like the rain has started to fall.

100km to go

Now the peloton take on Wolvenberg, led by Dries De Bondt (Alpecin-Fenix), Niki Terpstra (Total Direct Energie) and Yves Lampaert (Elegant-QuickStep).

The peloton is strung out as Lampaert pushes the pace up front on Holleweg.

96km to go

5:45 for the break now. The peloton has cut a minute off the lead after that upping of pace.

Elegant-QuickStep take to the front of the peloton now. Boasson Hagen is only a few seconds up the road. The riders have passed through the rain shower.

The peloton ride Haaghoek and Boasson Hagen is caught. Up front, the break reach the Leberg climb.

Trek-Segafredo are back on the front on the approach to Berendries, another climb in quick succession.

Alexis Gougeard (AG2R La Mondiale) and Jake Stewart (Groupama-FDJ) drop out the rear of the peloton as De Bondt makes his way back.

86km to go

A look at the peloton.

A small group tries to make it away from the peloton. Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates) and Silvan Dillier (AG2R La Mondiale) were in there. The pace is staying high.

The break start the Valkenburg climb as a few more riders jump from the peloton.

Reinardt Janse van Rensburg (NTT Pro Cycling) is one of the men trying to make it away.

81km to go

A third (?) bike change for Nils Politt. He's having a tough day.

Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo) overruns a corners and hits the ground before slowly getting rolling again.

77km to go

The riders will pass through the final feed zone of the race soon. They're 6km from Kanarieberg, too.

Another NTT attacker – it's Max Walscheid.

The German has around 15-20 seconds on the peloton.

Wheel change for Daniel Oss (Bora-Hansgrohe). Hofstetter looks annoyed as he waits for his team car, pacing around and kicking the air.

72km to go

Leonardo Basso (Ineos Grenadiers) and Zdenek Štybar (Elegant-QuickStep) lead the peloton up Kanarieberg.

Kwiatkowski and Štybar catch Walscheid after clipping off the front.

65km to go

A crash in the peloton takes out EF's Sep Vanmarcke and Stefan Bissegger and B&B Hotels-Vital Concept's Jens Debusschere. It was a couple of unrelated touchse of wheels in the peloton.

He's chasing on with Taco van der Hoorn. 9km to go until Oude Kwaremont, a bit of a lull in the race with no climbs or cobbles here.

57km to go

No big moves on Oude Kwaremont there. It's still early. The break is now just 25 seconds up the road now, though.

Just a couple of kilometres to the Paterberg now. We'll see more riders tailed off the rear up there.

52km to go

The break hang on over the top, though. They're just 10 seconds up. No big moves in the peloton.

Alaphilippe lost traction a little riding the gutter on the steep section. He's OK though.

50km to go

The peloton has fallen apart here. 

Romain Bardet (!), Oliver Naesen and John Degenkolb jump across to the move. The peloton catches up, though.

A look at that brief move.

Van Baarle and Bardet continue to push on. 

45km to go

Alaphilippe makes a move! Naesen, Van der Poel behind him.

The world champion is really going for it here.

Alaphilippe has joined a Total Direct Energie rider Anthony Turgis ahead of an elite chase group.

43km to go

More riders are chasing on now. The groups are all merging here.

40km to go

Valgren, Kwiatkowski, Mezgec, Pedersen are still chasing on.

Alaphilippe pushes on once again on the cobbled descent as Van der Poel chases. 

Alaphilippe and Van der Poel are away!

Van Aert is coming across, too. The three big favourites off the front as they hit the cobbled climb of the Taaienberg (530 metres at 6.6 per cent, max 15 per cent).

Naesen leads the chase behind. The gap looks to be maybe 10 seconds.

Van der Poel almost loses it after taking a corner no-handed as he took a bottle from a soigneur.

Four men are chasing the lead trio – Bettiol, Sénéchal, Asgreen and Valentin Madouas.

36km to go

Alaphilippe crashes!

He's in a lot of pain and isn't getting up.

It looks certain to be race over for Alaphilippe.

The moto was going slow at the side of the road, Van der Poel jinked around it but it looked like Alaphilippe was unsighted and had nowhere to go.

Meanwhile, 35 seconds between Van Aert-Van der Poel and the chasers.

A look at what was the lead group... Now the 'Van' duo are 40 seconds up on the chase.

The chase group: Alberto Bettiol, Sep Vanmarcke, Yves Lampaert, Florian Sénéchal, John Degenkolb, Oliver Naesen, Jasper Stuyven, Valentin Madouas, Dylan Teuns, Dylan van Baarle, Tiesj Benoot, Alexander Kristoff, Dimitri Claeys, Arjen Livyns, Xavier Meurisse, Andrea Pasqualon, Anthony Turgis.

24km to go

Julian Alaphilippe crashes out of Tour of Flanders

6km to go until Oude Kwaremont. Paterberg follows, and then it's the run to the finish...

Our two leaders. After all the polemica of Gent-Wevelgem, they're forced to work together here to stave off the chasers and contest the victory.

19km to go

Van der Poel is on the front as they hit the cobbles.

Their advantage is only going up now. The chase group hardly looked like they were flying along.

No moves from either of the duo up front on Oude Kwaremont. Van Aert takes to the front as they hit the false flat over the top.

Naesen has attacked the chase group on Oude Kwaremont.

16km to go

Just the Paterberg remains now. Van Aert vs Van der Poel for the win at the Tour of Flanders.

Van der Poel tightens his shoes. Van Aert leads the way for now.

They hit Paterberg! Van der Poel leads the way.

This crucial cobbled climb is 360 metres long at 12.9 per cent with a maximum gradient of 20.3 per cent.

They're equal to one another so far.

13km to go

Naesen still chases, 1:10 back. Vanmarcke leads the rest of the chasers.

Now we wait. Neither man will go on the attack this far out, but will they try a move at all? Or will they rely on their strong sprints?

10km to go

8km to go

That said, it's been a hard day out and who knows how the racing has effected their legs.

6km to go

There has been no further news on Alaphilippe's condition yet, by the way.

5km to go

4km to go

3km to go

2km to go

The gap is down to 40 seconds but the leaders are safe, barring disaster.

1km to go

500m to go

Van Aert is forcing Van der Poel to lead it out.

250m to go

They launch with around 150 metres to go! Van Aert can't get past!

Van Aert draws alongside Van der Poel but it's the Dutchman who takes it!

This is how close it was...

They couldn't be separated until the last metres. What a duel.

Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates) took third place ahead of Anthony Turgis (Total Direct Energie) and Yves Lampaert (Elegant-QuickStep).

Van der Poel follows in the wheeltracks of his father Adrie, who won this race back in 1986.

Here's the finish, with Van der Poel just edging it at the line.

A snippet of what Van der Poel had to say after the finish:

A customary handshake between Van der Poel and Van Aert and Kristoff. No snubbing here. The Dutchman collects his trophy and the trio duly spray the Lidl champagne.

Van der Poel:

We have continuing live coverage of the Women's Tour of Flanders and stage 15 of the Giro d'Italia, too.

Read our brief report on the 2020 Tour of Flanders here

Third-place finisher Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates) after the finish:

Oliver Naesen (AG2R La Mondiale), who finished fourth:

Julian Alaphilippe has suffered two fractured bones in his right hand, his team has confirmed.

The Women's Tour of Flanders is approaching the final kilomtres

A bit from runner-up Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) after the finish...

The Women's Tour of Flanders has just finished.

A great shot of the finish, with the big two battling it out and the chase group in their wake.

Our updated report on the Alaphilippe crash is here.

Our full race report is also up.

Mathieu van der Poel: Flanders win turns an average season into a super season

Alberto Bettiol: I didn’t have the same Tour of Flanders legs as last year

Alexander Kristoff takes unexpected podium at Tour of Flanders

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