March-April is really the classics season, when the cobbles and hilly one-day specialists come out to compete for their most important objectives of the season. They were a lot of crashes, and resulting injuries, which put stars out of their target races, a few surprise winners, and a three very dominant riders (Kristoff, Degenkolb and Valverde) that took most of the spotlight throughout. There was also some interesting stage racing, largely dominated by Richie Porte, who has gone from strength to strength this season in his lead-up to the Giro.
Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne was the traditional sprinter's affair, with Cavendish convincingly beating Kristoff, who led out early. Viviani came from a long way back to take 3rd, whilst Tom Van Asbroeck was an encouraging 4th. Kris Boeckmans impressed by making the selection over the cobbles, and then attacking from the break, and was the final one caught.
Le Samyn is a nifty little race, and often its winners go on to bigger things. This year Kris Boeckmans made good on his form, winning a tight sprint from Gianni Meersman after his teammate Tiesj Benoot split the race on the run-in.
Strade Bianche was a particularly gruelling edition of the already hard race, and it saw Van Avermaet, Stybar and Valverde in the final group with only the final climb into Siena remaining. Van Avermaet powered away and looked to have it won, but Stybar just stayed in touch, before catching Van Avermaet near the top and just passing him before the downhill run to the line, where he maintained his lead.
Paris-Nice turned out to be a battle between Kwiatkowski and Porte, with the world champion somewhat surprisingly winning the opening prologue against a very strong field. Porte made up the time plus some in the summit finish and the final day mountain time trial to take the win. Geraint Thomas rode a very strong race to finish 4th overall whilst also riding in support of his leader, and Spilak was solid to finish 3rd eventually.
Milan San-Remo was one of the less exhilarating editions on the Monument, with only a few half-hearted attacks animating the race before a regrouping after the descent off the Poggio. Very little in the way of a leadout was left, and in the final 2 kms, it was Paolini leading out Kristoff, but when the Italian finally pulled off, it was a little too far for the Russian to go, and he was overtaken just before the line by John Degenkolb. Michael Matthews rounded out the podium, after also marking a move by Sagan on the Poggio.
Volta a Catalunya was almost over before it started, with a strong breakaway of Paterski, Rolland and De Clercq taking an almost 3 minute advantage on the opening stage, with Paterski taking the win and the leader's jersey. All would fade from contention, with De Clercq lasting the longest. Stages 2, 5 and 7 were all wins for a rampant Valverde, but he got stuck behind a crash on the penultimate climb of the queen stage, and ended up losing 18 seconds to Porte, who finished 2nd on the stage, and ended up moving into the leader's jersey, which he kept until the end. There were also stage wins for Tejay Van Garderen, Sergei Cherenetckii and Domenico Pozzovivo.
Le Samyn is a nifty little race, and often its winners go on to bigger things. This year Kris Boeckmans made good on his form, winning a tight sprint from Gianni Meersman after his teammate Tiesj Benoot split the race on the run-in.
Strade Bianche was a particularly gruelling edition of the already hard race, and it saw Van Avermaet, Stybar and Valverde in the final group with only the final climb into Siena remaining. Van Avermaet powered away and looked to have it won, but Stybar just stayed in touch, before catching Van Avermaet near the top and just passing him before the downhill run to the line, where he maintained his lead.
Paris-Nice turned out to be a battle between Kwiatkowski and Porte, with the world champion somewhat surprisingly winning the opening prologue against a very strong field. Porte made up the time plus some in the summit finish and the final day mountain time trial to take the win. Geraint Thomas rode a very strong race to finish 4th overall whilst also riding in support of his leader, and Spilak was solid to finish 3rd eventually.
Milan San-Remo was one of the less exhilarating editions on the Monument, with only a few half-hearted attacks animating the race before a regrouping after the descent off the Poggio. Very little in the way of a leadout was left, and in the final 2 kms, it was Paolini leading out Kristoff, but when the Italian finally pulled off, it was a little too far for the Russian to go, and he was overtaken just before the line by John Degenkolb. Michael Matthews rounded out the podium, after also marking a move by Sagan on the Poggio.
Volta a Catalunya was almost over before it started, with a strong breakaway of Paterski, Rolland and De Clercq taking an almost 3 minute advantage on the opening stage, with Paterski taking the win and the leader's jersey. All would fade from contention, with De Clercq lasting the longest. Stages 2, 5 and 7 were all wins for a rampant Valverde, but he got stuck behind a crash on the penultimate climb of the queen stage, and ended up losing 18 seconds to Porte, who finished 2nd on the stage, and ended up moving into the leader's jersey, which he kept until the end. There were also stage wins for Tejay Van Garderen, Sergei Cherenetckii and Domenico Pozzovivo.
Dwars dor Vlaanderen ended up being a bit of a strange race, with Jelle Wallays winning after being part of the initial break. He was bridged up to by a group of three, including teammate Edward Theuns, so when he made his final attack a few kilometres out from the line, there was a reluctance to chase from the others, and Topsport Vlaanderen took a superb 1-2 in their home race.
E3 wasn't as selective as normal, and would have come back together for a sprint if Van Avermaet hadn't gone over his handlebars at a crucial stage, which took a lot of impetus out of the chase. In the end the attack stayed away, with Geraint Thomas attacking his companions Stybar and Sagan to take the win, with Stybar taking 2nd, and Sagan fading with the bunch catching him and Trentin taking the sprint for 3rd.
Gent-Wevelgem was on the same weekend, but what is normally a race for the sprinters turned into an apocalyptic windswept day which nearly brought the race to a stop. At stages riders were being blown off the road, or forming almost horizontal echelons to keep out of the wind as much as possible. Whilst most of the peleton were just trying to survive, the stronger riders decided to make a race of it. with a select group emerging to chase lone escapee Jurgen Roelandts, who rode bravely by himself for 60 kms before being caught. Thomas got blown into a ditch, but came back to the lead group, only to see Paolini catch his companions unawares with a canny attack, and that was the last time they saw him as he took the win on a memorable day, with Terpstra and Thomas filling out the podium.
Drieesdage de Panne was nearly a clean sweep for Alexander Kristoff, he won the first stage from an attack with a good cohesive group, stages 2 and 3a from sprints, and even took 3rd in the TT to ensure a very impressive victory in the GC.
Of course all the cobbled races of Flanders were just the appetiser for the big event, the Ronde van Vlaanderen, and it didn't disappoint. Almost all the favourites made the main selection, with only Vanmarcke missing out. From there, a series of half-hearted attacks were tried until Terpstra and Kristoff were able to make a move stick as they reached the top of the Kruisberg. Van Avermaet and Sagan took off up the Paterberg and that was how it stayed until the finish, with the main group unable to get organised with attack after attack ruining their momentum. In the end, Kristoff proved himself the strongest, easily winning the sprint, despite Terpstra sitting on. Van Avermaet came charging from behind, but arguably the performance of the day was neo-pro Tiesj Benoot managing a very impressive 5th.
E3 wasn't as selective as normal, and would have come back together for a sprint if Van Avermaet hadn't gone over his handlebars at a crucial stage, which took a lot of impetus out of the chase. In the end the attack stayed away, with Geraint Thomas attacking his companions Stybar and Sagan to take the win, with Stybar taking 2nd, and Sagan fading with the bunch catching him and Trentin taking the sprint for 3rd.
Gent-Wevelgem was on the same weekend, but what is normally a race for the sprinters turned into an apocalyptic windswept day which nearly brought the race to a stop. At stages riders were being blown off the road, or forming almost horizontal echelons to keep out of the wind as much as possible. Whilst most of the peleton were just trying to survive, the stronger riders decided to make a race of it. with a select group emerging to chase lone escapee Jurgen Roelandts, who rode bravely by himself for 60 kms before being caught. Thomas got blown into a ditch, but came back to the lead group, only to see Paolini catch his companions unawares with a canny attack, and that was the last time they saw him as he took the win on a memorable day, with Terpstra and Thomas filling out the podium.
Drieesdage de Panne was nearly a clean sweep for Alexander Kristoff, he won the first stage from an attack with a good cohesive group, stages 2 and 3a from sprints, and even took 3rd in the TT to ensure a very impressive victory in the GC.
Of course all the cobbled races of Flanders were just the appetiser for the big event, the Ronde van Vlaanderen, and it didn't disappoint. Almost all the favourites made the main selection, with only Vanmarcke missing out. From there, a series of half-hearted attacks were tried until Terpstra and Kristoff were able to make a move stick as they reached the top of the Kruisberg. Van Avermaet and Sagan took off up the Paterberg and that was how it stayed until the finish, with the main group unable to get organised with attack after attack ruining their momentum. In the end, Kristoff proved himself the strongest, easily winning the sprint, despite Terpstra sitting on. Van Avermaet came charging from behind, but arguably the performance of the day was neo-pro Tiesj Benoot managing a very impressive 5th.
For the non cobbles racers the Vuelta Cyclista al Pais Vasco kicked off with a Michael Matthews sprint victory, though he could only manage 2nd to Fabio Felline the following day. Stage 3 saw the first GC battle, with Rodriguez taking the win in a sprint, after he, Quintana and Henao put some time into the rest of the field. The stage 4 queen stage saw an 11-strong group reach the summit, with a savvy Rodriguez taking the downhill sprint. Henao and Rodriguez were able to distance the rest of the GC favourites in stage 6, but they finished behind Mikel Landa who won from a large break, and Simon Yates, who escaped on the penultimate climb. With only the hilly TT remaining, and Henao and Rodriguez equal on time, it was surprisingly Purito who pulled out one of the best TTs of his life to take 2nd on the day to wrap up the GC. Tom Dumoulin was the only TT specialist to get a grip on the course and won the stage. Henao was 2nd, and Ion Izaguirre 3rd, after a strong ride throughout to upstage his team leader Quintana.
Paris-Roubaix was the traditionally unpredictable affair, but the winner John Degenkolb was unquestionably the strongest rider on the day, and fully deserved the win. EQS were responsible for a lot of the animation of the race, splitting the peleton in the crosswinds, then sending Stijn Vandenbergh up the road, with Wiggins joining him later. Their advantage was short-lived, and once they were brought back, Sep Vanmarcke launched a powerful attack that made a big selection, but he unfortunately punctured right after that, and his race, at least for the win, was over. A flurry of attacks followed the last major cobbled section, until Yves Lampaert caught everyone except Greg Van Avermaet offguard with a well-judged surge, and the pair built a decent gap. Degenkolb took it upon himself to bridge over, which he did with 7 kms to go. Understandably the other two didn't particularly want to work with a sprinter of Degenkolb's quality, and in particular Lampaert knew that Stybar was in the chase group behind, and would give EQS the numbers. That group caught up with 3kms remaining, which left enough time for Lampaert to make a last-ditch attack which Degenkolb shut down. It was a 7 man sprint which eventually decided it in the velodrome, but of course nobody could best Degenkolb, with Stybar and Van Avermaet following him in to make up the podium.
Brabantes Pijl was a win for Ben Hermans after he made an attack with David Tanner late on in the race, before dropping the Australian and holding off a disorganised peleton to win, with Matthews dominating the sprint for second.
Amstel Gold followed its normal course, with a series of late attacks going in the hills, but the race came back together for the final climb up the Cauberg. Hermans started off the attacks, but it was only to draw the other favourites out for Gilbert's eventual attack on the hardest section. He immediately distanced all except a very strong Matthews, and knowing he couldn't beat the Australian in a sprint, kept surging whilst a clearly suffering Matthews doggedly clung to his wheel. Both probably ruined their chances by going so deep at this stage, and they were joined on the flat run-in to the finish by 20 other riders, with Kwiatkowski, 6th over the top of the Cauberg, ultimately taking the win over Valverde and a clearly exhausted Matthews, with Gilbert finishing 10th.
Paris-Roubaix was the traditionally unpredictable affair, but the winner John Degenkolb was unquestionably the strongest rider on the day, and fully deserved the win. EQS were responsible for a lot of the animation of the race, splitting the peleton in the crosswinds, then sending Stijn Vandenbergh up the road, with Wiggins joining him later. Their advantage was short-lived, and once they were brought back, Sep Vanmarcke launched a powerful attack that made a big selection, but he unfortunately punctured right after that, and his race, at least for the win, was over. A flurry of attacks followed the last major cobbled section, until Yves Lampaert caught everyone except Greg Van Avermaet offguard with a well-judged surge, and the pair built a decent gap. Degenkolb took it upon himself to bridge over, which he did with 7 kms to go. Understandably the other two didn't particularly want to work with a sprinter of Degenkolb's quality, and in particular Lampaert knew that Stybar was in the chase group behind, and would give EQS the numbers. That group caught up with 3kms remaining, which left enough time for Lampaert to make a last-ditch attack which Degenkolb shut down. It was a 7 man sprint which eventually decided it in the velodrome, but of course nobody could best Degenkolb, with Stybar and Van Avermaet following him in to make up the podium.
Brabantes Pijl was a win for Ben Hermans after he made an attack with David Tanner late on in the race, before dropping the Australian and holding off a disorganised peleton to win, with Matthews dominating the sprint for second.
Amstel Gold followed its normal course, with a series of late attacks going in the hills, but the race came back together for the final climb up the Cauberg. Hermans started off the attacks, but it was only to draw the other favourites out for Gilbert's eventual attack on the hardest section. He immediately distanced all except a very strong Matthews, and knowing he couldn't beat the Australian in a sprint, kept surging whilst a clearly suffering Matthews doggedly clung to his wheel. Both probably ruined their chances by going so deep at this stage, and they were joined on the flat run-in to the finish by 20 other riders, with Kwiatkowski, 6th over the top of the Cauberg, ultimately taking the win over Valverde and a clearly exhausted Matthews, with Gilbert finishing 10th.
Fleche Wallonne had its traditional wait-for-the-Mur-de-Huy formula shaken up a bit by the addition of the Cote de Cherave just before the famous Mur. It didn't upend the race, but it resulted in a seriously reduced peleton coming into the base of the Mur, and less of a drag race into it to ensure the best positions. The only attack was a short-lived one by Esteban Chaves, which was swiftly brought back by Lampre. Once they had tired out, it was Valverde who set the pace to the top, and either no one could come past him, or no one dared, and it ended up being a sprint from 100 m to go, with Valverde winning easily from Julian Alaphillipe and Michael Albasini.
It wasn't just classics then, with the Giro del Trentino doing its role as the traditional Giro warmup. Bora-Argon 18 surprised by winning the opening TTT, but it was no surprise that Richie Porte again dominated the GC, winning the second stage with ease and maintaining his stranglehold on the overall, despite Pozzovivo and Tirralongo winning the remaining stages.
Liege-Bastogne-Liege marks the end of the classics season, and it was a fitting finale, with an interesting developing race situation throughout, shifting in the final 100 kms. The initial breakaway was reeled in very quickly by Europcar, who then did nothing for the rest of the race, and it allowed a number of riders to go on the offensive, with an eventual three man break of Scarponi, Kangert and Chaves going clear. The two Astana men and OGE combination worked well together, but were always kept under wraps by the peleton, who brought them back with just over 20 kms remaining. The attacks started soon after, on the Roche-aux-Faucons, with another three-man effort of Giampaolo Caruso, Roman Kreuziger and Jakob Fuglsang going clear, and it looked very dangerous for a time, as the chase behind was very disorganised. Eventually Stybar buried himself to bring the move back to within striking distance on the Saint-Nicholas, and 15 riders bridged to the leading riders. Katusha had the numbers and set the captured Giampaolo Caruso on policeman/pace-setting duty, into the final kilometre. There Moreno launched a big attack, and it was left to Valverde to chase it down, and then he powered away in the sprint, only challenged by Alaphillipe.
The Tour of Romandie was the final big race before the Giro, and though Sky beat out Orica in the initial, it was OGE rider Albasini who dominated the race early, taking the first two reduced sprints, before eventually losing the leader's jersey on the queen stage. where Ilnur Zakarin surprisingly took it on, before even more surprisingly defending it in the TT to take the overall. Thibaut Pinot took a big stage win, and Tony Martin won the final TT, with Froome clearly still suffering the after effects of the virus he had been suffering from.
It wasn't just classics then, with the Giro del Trentino doing its role as the traditional Giro warmup. Bora-Argon 18 surprised by winning the opening TTT, but it was no surprise that Richie Porte again dominated the GC, winning the second stage with ease and maintaining his stranglehold on the overall, despite Pozzovivo and Tirralongo winning the remaining stages.
Liege-Bastogne-Liege marks the end of the classics season, and it was a fitting finale, with an interesting developing race situation throughout, shifting in the final 100 kms. The initial breakaway was reeled in very quickly by Europcar, who then did nothing for the rest of the race, and it allowed a number of riders to go on the offensive, with an eventual three man break of Scarponi, Kangert and Chaves going clear. The two Astana men and OGE combination worked well together, but were always kept under wraps by the peleton, who brought them back with just over 20 kms remaining. The attacks started soon after, on the Roche-aux-Faucons, with another three-man effort of Giampaolo Caruso, Roman Kreuziger and Jakob Fuglsang going clear, and it looked very dangerous for a time, as the chase behind was very disorganised. Eventually Stybar buried himself to bring the move back to within striking distance on the Saint-Nicholas, and 15 riders bridged to the leading riders. Katusha had the numbers and set the captured Giampaolo Caruso on policeman/pace-setting duty, into the final kilometre. There Moreno launched a big attack, and it was left to Valverde to chase it down, and then he powered away in the sprint, only challenged by Alaphillipe.
The Tour of Romandie was the final big race before the Giro, and though Sky beat out Orica in the initial, it was OGE rider Albasini who dominated the race early, taking the first two reduced sprints, before eventually losing the leader's jersey on the queen stage. where Ilnur Zakarin surprisingly took it on, before even more surprisingly defending it in the TT to take the overall. Thibaut Pinot took a big stage win, and Tony Martin won the final TT, with Froome clearly still suffering the after effects of the virus he had been suffering from.