Tour of Flanders 2024: Mathieu van der Poel converts Koppenberg attack into third triumph
The 29-year-old broke clear from a chase group on the cobbled climb with around 45km to go on his way to victory, as Elisa Longo Borghini took the women's race.
Cycling Road
World road cycling champion Mathieu van der Poel joined an exclusive club of three-time Tour of Flanders (Ronde van Vlaanderen) winners after soloing to a comfortable victory in the 2024 race on Sunday (31 March).
Van der Poel had sat back in the peloton early, only bridging across to the lead group with around 87km to go. After another attack went clear, van der Poel caught the leaders on the penultimate ascent of the Oude Kwaremont at 45km to go.
Movistar's Iván García went clear on the descent but suffered two hills later on the slippery cobbled Koppenberg climb, on which Van der Poel launched his decisive attack.
From there, he was unmatched. The chasers had no answer for the world champion, who imposed himself on the race and opened an unassailable lead. Eventually, the chase group seemed to settle on racing for the minor podium spots.
The Alpecin-Deceuninck rider's lead grew close to two minutes, and while his advantage shrunk on the flat final 10km run to the line in Oudenaarde, no one was able to catch him.
Van der Poel crossed the line in six hours five minutes and 23 seconds, slowing up in the final metres before getting off his bike immediately after finishing to lift it into the cold, rainy air in celebration.
"My season is already a success. Winning the Tour of Flanders in the world champion jersey is a dream come true and I need a few moments to let it sink in," Van der Poel said after the race.
History for van der Poel and Longo Borghini
After previous wins in 2020 and 2022, the Dutchman became the seventh man to win the race a record three times. It was his second triumph of the season after winning the E3 Saxo Classic last Friday.
Behind him, Alberto Bettiol and Dylan Teuns both went clear of the remaining chasers with around 20km to go, and held off multiple attempts to bring them back until the final sprint, when they finally cracked.
A group of nine managed to catch Bettiol and Teuns, with Italy's Luca Mozzato (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) taking second place in a photo finish ahead of Michael Matthews. However, Matthews was later relegated by the race commisaires to the back of the group, giving third to German Nils Politt of UAE Team Emirates. Van der Poel's eventual gap to Mozzato and the chasers was 1:02.
After the race, the Dutchman was not ready to discuss the next crown in the classics calendar – Paris-Roubaix next weekend – quite yet.
"I cannot think about Roubaix yet… it was one of the hardest races I've ever done with the weather circumstances. I was really completely empty the last 10k to the finish line – I just closed my eyes and tried to get there as fast as possible."
The women's Tour of Flanders went to Elisa Longo Borghini in a race dominated by her Lidl-Trek team.
Shirin van Anrooij made a solo attack just over 20km from the finish and was joined by teammate Longo Borghini and Katarzyna Niewiadoma with 12km to go.
The three were together at the finish, and Italy's two-time Olympic bronze medallist won the sprint with Niewiadoma second and van Anrooij celebrating a team triumph in third.
Longo Borghini is the fifth woman to win two Tour of Flanders having been victorious in 2015. World road race champion Lotte Kopecky, who was seeking a third consecutive title, finished in fifth place.