29/03/2023

Dwars door Vlaanderen: Jumbo-Visma continue classics domination, Christophe Laporte takes solo win

The image of the cobbled classics this year was unrivalled domination of Jumbo-Visma. In the fifth of five main classics in the cobbled, the Dutch team has continued it's streak. Christophe Laporte took a solo win. Oier Lazkano and Neilson Powless completed the podium.

The Belgian race experienced strong wind and tricky conditions. The breakaway was a goal of several including one of the outsiders Alexander Kristoff who went up the road. Yevgeniy Gidich (Astana Qazaqstan Team), Oier Lazkano (Movistar Team), Nickolas Zukowsky (EF Education-EasyPost), Ward Vanhoof (Team Flandres - Baloise) and Leon Heinschke (Team DSM) formed the day's breakaway.

Fabian Cancellara defends Wout van Aert: "A champion is not only defined by races they win"

Unlike the regular breakaways in the classics, this was a group that was strong than the peloton expected. The race opened up with 66 kilometers to go in the Kanarieberg, as Jumbo-Visma and Alpecin-Deceuninck attacked the race, but didn't collaborate, opening the race up for many attacks.

With around 55 kilometers to go however a stronger group was formed and distanced itself from the peloton. Quinten Hermans, Tiesj Benoot, Christophe Laporte, Stefan Küng, Valentin Madouas, Jhonatan Narváez, Neilson Powless and Mikkel Honoré. The eight-man group was very balanced however, and as they kept riding through the flatter section of the race no-one managed to get away and the group wasn't collaborating perfectly.

This saw the peloton organize itself once again and stabilize the gap in around 30 seconds. In the meanwhile the breakaway slowly lost riders, but Kristoff and Lazkano kept riding an extremely high pace and kept leading the race threatening the main favourites' ambitions. The catch was only made with 6 kilometers to go inide the final cobbled sector of the race.

After the sector attacks began, as Mikkel Honoré went on the offensive twice. As the riders came back together Christophe Laporte made a move and wasn't followed by anyone. The Frenchman put one attack and it was decisive as no-one came close. Oier Lazkano and Neilson Powless attacked from the chasing group in the closing kilometers and by that order completed the podium, as the rest of the Top10 saw the peloton swarm the rest of the chasers.