Cancellara indomitable
Swiss star wins a vintage edition of De Ronde with his most complete performance ever
1 Tom Boonen is accustomed to nothing less than a hero’s welcome in Bruges. Here the Belgian acknowledges his adoring public with a wave as he aims for a record-breaking fourth Flanders title.
2 The race turned into one of the fastest in recent times. With the speed in the peloton frantic from the off, crashes were the inevitable consequence. It seemed that every couple of minutes TV cameras were revealing yet another rider peeling himself off the tarmac. Luke Durbridge from OricaGreenEdge was one of the unfortunates this time.
3 David Millar is on his farewell tour in 2014. He’s wearing specially designed Fizik shoes for each race this year and is auctioning them off for charity. His final Flanders wasn’t one to remember, for him or his team. He climbed off and team-mate Sebastian Langeveld (10th) was their only rider in the top 40.
4 It was hard to predict a winner in what looked set to one of the fiercest Ronde battles for years. The pace was high throughout the race, particularly at the start as an anxious peloton waited for the break to form.
5 Decent April weather brought out the crowds en masse, though the dangers of frenetic racing on the narrow Belgian roads were brought home by a horrendous crash involving Johan Vansummeren. The Garmin-Sharp rider collided with an elderly woman on a traffic island in Wielsbeke. She was rushed to hospital and placed in intensive care.
6 It took over an hour for a break to get away, with BMC’s Taylor Phinney the biggest name in the 11-man group. He was looking to build his form ahead of Paris- Roubaix and to support Greg Van Avermaet.
7 A bearded Bradley Wiggins was a late replacement in Sky’s team for the injured Ian Stannard. Having been absent from their Classics team so far the 2012 Tour winner needed the tune-up prior to Paris- Roubaix the following Sunday. He’d finish a very creditable 32nd.
8 Filippo Pozzato had been talking up his chances in midweek… without any recent results to back it up. The Italian was distanced, like so many, on the final ascent of the Oude Kwaremont to finish in 17th, 85 seconds back.
9 BMC looked as focussed a team as they ever have been since Cadel Evans won the Tour de France in 2011. It was all in support of this man, Greg Van Avermaet. Phinney and Manuel Quinziato laid the foundations with sterling work out front before the Belgian attacked early in the finale.
10 Two-time winner Stijn Devolder ( Trek Factory Racing) had been touted as a tactical alternative to his leader Fabian Cancellara. But cries of ‘chute’ were invariably followed by a shot of the Belgian national champion on the deck. It was a day for him to forget, on a personal level at least.
11 It was also a day to forget for Cannondale as a whole. Sagan’s team-mates did a lot of work controlling the various moves, to the extent that the Slovakian was left isolated in the finale. The same was also true of Cancellara, though...
12 Matteo Trentin (OPQS), Quinziato and Bernie Eisel ( Team Sky) attacked on the ninth climb, the Kanarieberg. All three performed excellent jobs for their team leaders, even if they didn’t get the rewards that their efforts deserved.