Christophe Laporte has won Dwars door Vlaanderen in impressive style. The Frenchman of Team Jumbo-Visma made his move in the final kilometres to claim the victory after a strong solo.
With its combination of steep climbs and cobbled sectors, Dwars door Vlaanderen presented the final opportunity for the riders to test their legs before the second Monument of the season. With the start in Roesalare and finish in Waregem, the 183.7 km long course featured eleven helligen and eight cobbled sectors.
Team Jumbo-Visma was the dominant team in the race. In the Flemish Ardennes, Tim van Dijke and Tosh Van der Sande put their leaders, Tiesj Benoot and Laporte, in a good position. The break went clear early on, but with around 6 km to go, the race came together again before ten riders broke away from the decimated field. On the Kanarieberg and Knokteberg, among others, Benoot ran off, and his French companion was often close in pursuit. After a game of cat and mouse between several groups, Laporte made an ultimate acceleration on the roads to Waregem. None of his escape companions were able to follow. The race then opened up again with 4.5km remaining, when Laporte attacked from the leading group and no one was able to follow him.
Laporte: “It was another great day for the team. Everyone did a great job, and Tiesj was particularly strong. His attacks on the climbs created a strong group, and we were able to fight for the win.”
The Gent-Wevelgem winner was ecstatic with his most recent triumph. “It’s still hard to believe what happened today. It’s amazing what our team accomplished. Maintaining this form for the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix is crucial. Those are still our main goals.”
The victory at Dwars door Vlaanderen fits into the Dutch team’s productive classic spring. Earlier this season, Dylan van Baarle won Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Benoot triumphed at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, Van Aert won the E3 Saxo Classic, and Laporte won at Ghent-Wevelgem. In Dwars door Vlaanderen, Laporte expanded the list of classic victories.
It is already the 20th victory of the season for Team Jumbo-Visma. For the Frenchman, it is his second victory of the year.
Result
01 C. Laporte 4:06:20
02 O. Lazkano +0:15
03 N. Powless +0:15
