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As it happened: Pogacar attacks his big rivals and wins Tour of Flanders alone

Tour of Flanders 2023 Race Page

Fabian Cancellara's Classics Column: Sizing up the Big Three for Tour of Flanders

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Hello and welcome to Cyclingnews' live coverage of the 2023 Tour of Flanders!

The riders roll out in less than 40 minutes and are currently signing on in the packed Bruges grote markt.

Cyclingnews will have full live coverage of both the men's and women's Tour of Flanders.

Cyclingnews Deputy Editor Patrick Fletcher and Features Editor Barry Ryan are in Bruges for the start. 

After rain on Saturday, it is expected to cool but dry today, with some wind from the northeast a factor in the race.

This is the race route, with the 19 Hellingen and six sectors of cobbles. At 273.4km, plus a neutralised sector, it will be a long hard day in the saddle.

Intermarché-Circus-Wanty's Biniam Girmay can perhaps enjoy a glass of champagne whatever the result. He celebrates his 23rd birthday today with his debut in the Ronde.

This is Peter Sagan's last Tour of Flanders

Alexander Kristoff won the Tour of Flanders in 2015. He went on the attack on Wednesday. Will he go again?  

Happy Birthday Biniam

Happy Birthday Biniam! (Image credit: Getty Images)

Matej Mohoric won Milan-San Remo last year but has peaked a little later this season and is on form. He hopes to land another surprise.

This is the special atmosphere at the Tour of Flanders as Jumbo-Visma head to the sign-on.

Thee clock is ticking down to the roll out from Bruges. 

Tadej Pogacar enjoys the 10,000 crowd in Bruges. He is hoping for a special solo victory.

Wout van Aert was on stage after Pogacar. 

Mathieu van der Poel, the 2022 winner, was the last to sign-on. 

As the bells ring across the grote markt, the riders roll out of Bruges.

The streets in Bruges are packed with spectators. The roads are dry but it's cold, just 6C at the moment.

Riders are wrapped up, some even with leg warmers, gloves and neck warmers.

The riders face 8.3km of neutralised riding before race director Scott Sunderland drops the flag.

There will be a tailwind for the opening 75km and so we expect a fast start. 

Van Aert is at the back of the pack, getting an extra gillet from his team car to stay warm.

This was the ride out of Bruges.

Here we go!

Of course, we'll also have full live coverage of the women's Tour of Flanders. 

We can see some early surges but not out and out attacks.

Interesting Ineos have riders up front, trying to join the early break. Connor Swift is there. 

The race heads southeast towards Gent on wide roads. That should help the break to form.

At the back of the peloton, we can see Wout van Aert talking to Jasper Stuyven, will they form a tactical alliance? 

267km to go

The speed is up, so it's not the time to chat now.

Van Aert is at the back but the attacks are starting up front.

260km to go

Our bike tech reporter Will Jones is also in Flanders and has been studying the bikes the favourites are using. Tyres and pressure will be important today.

In Knesselare, the village of the late Bjorg Lambrecht, the race remembers the talent rider who tragically died at the Tour de Pologne after a crash.

253km to go

The speed is up!

250km to go

Jumbo also have a rider up front, marking the moves.

Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bingoal WB) makes a dig but he's pulled back. 

The riders have turned right and are heading southwest now, with the wind firmly on their backs now. 

235km to go

Such is the speed that anyone who drops back to the team cars has to go deep to get back on. 

Oier Lazkano is active and trying to drag a break away. He rode well in Dwars on Wednesday and wants to be in the front today too.

Interestingly van der Poel is in as second group that was gapped off the back. 

Søren Kragh Andersen is also stuck behind at 30 seconds.

Jayco and Israel also have riders stuck in the chase group and so having to work to close the gap.

The split in the peloton was caused by a moment of cross winds. This is surely a tactical mistake from van der Poel and Alpecin.

Valentin Madouas, Biniam Girmay, Peter Sagan and Caleb Ewan are also caught behind in the second group.

225km to go

Trek have mischievously put two riders on the front to keep the speed high and turn the screw on van der Poel.   

The riders have covered 50km in less than an hour. 

Sep Vanmarcke and Dylan Teuns are also in the chase group, forcing Israel to chase too. 

Bora have 2 riders in the chase group and they're also taking turns on the front of the chase.

The 2023 Tour of Flanders peloton

The 2023 Tour of Flanders peloton (Image credit: Getty Images)

Valentin Madouas is in the second group and appears about to climb off. He is sick and so his chances of another good ride at Flanders is over.

Dilier is also working to close the gap and drag van der Poel back to the peloton. 

The chasers have formed an echelon as they close the gap. 

Gruppo compatto.

Crash! 

Danny van Poppel of Bora is one of several riders to go down.

210km to go

Oier Lazkano was also caught in the crash.

205km to go

Pogacar has three UAE teammates helping him to chase back on.

200km to go

Mads Pedersen was caught in the crash and hurt his hand. Stuyven is also in the chase group, forcing Trek onto the defensive. 

Pogacar can let out a sigh of relief too. His chase group is back with the peloton.  

195km to go

Tadej Pogacar was caught behind a split

Tadej Pogacar was caught behind a split (Image credit: Getty Images)

The riders have covered 80km of the 273km race today. 

190km to go

185km to go

The Huisepontweg sector of cobbles kicks things off. It is 1.45km long and comes after 109km of racing.

Crash in the peloton!

Taco van der Hoorn is involved. 

Breakaway specialists are trying to get away but every time, someone chases them.

It's time for the feed zone. Watch out for attacks and crashes as riders grab musettes. 

There were again huge crowds along the route

There were again huge crowds along the route (Image credit: Getty Images)

49.3 km/h. That's the average speed after 2 hours. 

170km to go

The Tour of Flanders crowds

The Tour of Flanders crowds (Image credit: Getty Images)

164km to go

We finally have a break, which has a gap of 5 riders. They lead by just 20 seconds.

The five attackers are: 

Others are trying to go across.

160km to go

158km to go

We now have seven riders in the break and the peloton has slowed. They are 1:40 behind as Wout van Aert rides on the front to show his desire for the break to go away. 

A crash on a corner sees Tosh Van Der Sande of Jumbo go down. 

155km to go

The eight up front are: Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bingoal WB), Daan Hoole (Trek-Segafredo), Jasper De Buyst (Lotto-Dstny), Filippo Colombo (Q36.5) Elmar Reinders (Jayco-AlUla), Jonas Rutsch (EF Education-EasyPost), Tim Merlier (Soudal-QuickStep) and Hugo Houle (Israel-Premier Tech). 

The riders in the peloton are enjoying the easier pace, taking on food and chatting as they pass through Oudenaarde.   

150km to go

With the pace in the racing easing, we have a chance to catch-up with all the great stories we had on Cyclingnews in the build-up to the Tour of Flanders.

On Friday, Barry Ryan attended the Soudal-QuickStep press conference with Julian and Patrick Lefevere. 

140km to go

Alaphilippe was involved. 

The crash came right at the front of the peloton and so sparked a huge pile-up.

Ben Turner of Ineos went down too. 

No! 

Tim Wellens seems injured and his race is surely over. That's a blow for Pogacar.

Meanwhile, the break starts the Oude Kwaremont climb. 

There is a strong tailwind up the Oude Kwaremont. Remember that for later when the big attacks come. 

This was the moment of the crash. 

Luke Rowe is on the front of the peloton, as those involved in the crash are allowed to chase and get back on.

Tom Pidcock is up front, as Alaphilippe returns to the peloton after being involved in the crash.

135km to go

Race officials have also announced that the Bahrain Victorious rider Filip Maciejuk has been disqualified for causing the crash in the peloton.  

Some riders are still chasing after the crash. The tension is higher now, as the riders near the Kortekeer climb. 

Another crash!  

We are now into the series of climbs, from here onwards, there are 16 climbs to cover.

The peloton is riding very slowly on the Kortekeer. But suddenly  DSM up the pace.  

120km to go

This is still a very nervous, tactical race.

There is another split in the peloton,  with van der Poel in the chase group.

The peloton hits the 1.2km long Eikenberg climb.

115km to go

Crash! 

The crash happened on the Holleweg cobbled road.

Magnus Sheffield of Ineos went down and Tim van Dijke of Jumbo was involved too. 

Mathieu van der Poel was slowed by the crash and had to take his foot out. 

112km to go

Other riders are trying to get across. 

110km to go

The peloton is on the Kerkgate cobbled sector. 

EF leads the chase and drags the peloton up to the Pedersen and Pogacar group.

Sadly it has been confirmed that Peter Sagan has abandoned his last Tour of Flanders after he was involved in the big crash.   

Here comes the Molenberg - climb number 6. 

UAE lead pogacar to the climb after the small group was pulled back.

102km to go

Up very soon is the Marlboroughstraat and then the Berendries. 

Matteo Trentin, Stefan Küng, Kasper Asgreen, Fred Wright and Nathan Van Hooydonck are in the move.

Pedersen also got across but he went deep to do it. 

For now Wout van Aert and van der Poel are waiting in the peloton. 

The exposed roads are sparking big splits in the peloton. Some riders are being spat out the back, reducing the peloton to only 50 riders or so.

The only big team not represented up front appears to be van der Poel's Alpecin team. 

Movistar also missed the attack and so Jorgenson jumps to try to go across. 

The American is joined by Benoît Cosnefroy of AG2R. 

They need to cross a 30-second gap, which won't be easy. 

90km to go

The Valkenberg is climb 8/19 and is 1km long. 

Jorgenson and Cosnefroy have joined the attack, making it even stronger and even more of a threat. 

Some riders in the group will work hard to extend their gap but others, like Trentin, Van Hooydonck and Wright will perhaps sit on, thinking of their team leaders behind.

The peloton does not seem concerned for now, riding steady and spread across the road.

Wout van Aert is at the back of the peloton. He was involved in a crash earlier and has a cut on his left knee. 

The attackers go through the feed zone, some grabbing food and bidons.

Pogacar takes a musette and loads his bike and pockets with bars and bidons. 

Up front the break is about to be caught by the attack. That will make a group of 19 riders up front. 

Soudal are sitting on the front of the peloton, forcing Alpecin to do the chasing.

75km to go

The riders have already raced for 202km but there is still 71km to go. 

70km to go

Crash again!

The peloton was racing to the foot of the Kanarieberg and some riders went down hard. 

Biniam Grimay crashed. 

Mohoric too. 

Girmay seemed to touch wheels and go down at speed, other riders went over him and crashed.  

Aime De Gendt of Intermarche also went down hard but is okay. 

67km to go

The gap is up to 3:10 on the peloton. The race is going away from van Aert, Pogacar and van der Poel.

57km to go

Trentin sets the pace on the Oude Kwaremont as the break splinters.  

Behind UAE are setting up Pogacar. For an attack? 

55km to go

The peloton is in pieces. 

The gap between Pogacar and the attackers is down to 1:40.

Asgreen leads the attackers over the Paterberg.

The attackers know that Pogacar is chasing them. They start to work together, although some are sitting on, waiting for their leaders to come across.

48km to go

It's time for the Koppenberg climb. 

Pogacar and Laporte ease up and so are caught by Van Aert, van der Poel and Pidcock. 

Fortunately the Koppenberg is dry and Trentin leads up the icon cobbled climb. 

43km to go

Van Aert and van der Poel go with him. The Big Three are together! 

Pidcock and Laporte are distanced.

There are 11 riders left up front, including the USA's Jorgenson and Powless. 

40km to go

It's time for the Mariaborrestraat cobbles again and then the Steenbeekdries climb, the Taaienberg and the Kruisberg. 

38km to go

The attackers hit the Taaienberg. 

Pogacar is trying to hurt Van Aert and van der Poel on the rough cobbles but they stay with him yet again.  

35km to go

Up front they are down to just 9 riders: 

This is a thrilling race.

Pogacar, Van Aert and Van der Poel have caught Cosnefroy and Narvaez. 

30km to go

The Kruisberg/Hotond climb is coming up and Pedersen wants to open a gap. 

Van der Poel has attacked Pogacar and Van Aert! 

28km to go

Pedersen is out front but others from the attack are chasing him.

Pogacar and van der Poel sweep up riders from the attack. Only 7 are left up front but the gap is only 20 seconds!

Van Aert is 10 seconds down on Pogacar and van der Poel. He's timer trialing to catch them but he is suffering. 

The Oude Kwaremont ia just 4km away. 

23km to go

Van Hooydonck drops back to try to pace Van Aert back into action. 

20km to go

Pedersen leads alone

Van Hooydonck has sacrificed his chances to help Van Aert and is closing the gap.

18km to go

Pogacar distances van der Poel and everyone else.

Pogacar has blasted past Pedersen! He is away alone. 

Van der Poel and Pedersen are chasing but Pogacar is on the rampage. 

15km to go

Pogacar starts the cobbled Paterberg. He will surely extend his leads on the steep climb.

Van der Poel can see Pogacar but can't close the gap. 

Pogacar leads van der Poel by 15 seconds at the top of the Pogacar.

If the chasers work together they have a chance into the headwind back to Oudenaarde but it is a big, big ask.

10km to go

Van der Poel can see Pogacar up the road but he's slowly losing ground.

7km to go

5km to go

3km to go

1.5km to go

Tadej Pogačar wins the 2023 Tour of Flanders!

What a race! 

Tadej Pogačar won alone, 16 seconds ahead of van der Poel.

The Dutch rider just couldn't close the gap but he held off the chasers. 

Behind, but at almost a minute, Mads Pedersen beat Wout van Aert to take third place. 

If you want to follow the ctrion from the finale of the women's Tour of Flanders, click the link below. 

The USA’s Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost) finished fifth, in the same time of Pedersen. 

This is the moment that Tadej Pogacar won the Tour of Flanders.

“It’s a day I’ll never forget,” Pogačar said.  

Pogačar knew that the Oude Kwaremont was vital to his victory. 

This shot explains Pogacar's emotions and victory. 

The women's Tour of Flanders is about to be decided. Click below to follow our live coverage for all the action.

These are the official results, powered by FirstCycling

As the dust settles on the men's race and the women fight on the final climbs, we're trying to take in the great racing we've witnessed today.  

Patrick Fletcher and Barry Ryan are at the finish in Oudenaarde and will have the best rider interviews, reaction and Tour of Flanders analysis. 

To read our full Tour of Flanders report and to see the full results and our growing photo gallery, click below. 

Mathieu van der Poel could do little against Tadej Pogacar today but he was a deserved second. 

We were impressed by Neilson Powless' ride at the Tour of Flanders on his debut. 

Pogačar has the wealth of talents to surely win all five monuments. After his Tour of Flanders win, he admitted he will ride Paris-Roubaix one day but that Milan-San Remo maybe his hardest monument to win.  

A shot at Paris-Roubaix may come in the future if winning all five becomes possible after a Milan-San Remo victory.   

 Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) wanted to steal a march and go all in at the Tour of Flanders to try and get ahead of Pogacar. 

This is today's big three.   

Pogacar lifted the winner's trophy but all three riders were impressive.

This is the 2023 Tour of Flanders podium (l-r) Mathieu van der Poel, Tadej Pogacar and Mads Pedersen. 

To read our full race report from the men's Tour of Flanders, click below.

Thanks for joining us for our full live coverage of the Tour of Flanders. To read the live coverage of the women's Tour of Flanders click below.

To read what Mathieu van der Poel said, click below. 

Anticipation was the name of the game for the former world champion Mads Pedersen and it took him all the way to the podium. This is what he said post-race.

By winning the Tour of Flanders, Pogacar is closer to winning all the Monuments, even if Paris-Roubaix seems a major challenge.

Thanks again for the huge numbers of visitors to Cyclingnews for our live coverage of the Tour of Flanders.   

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