Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) is still looking for his first win in the rainbow jersey following yesterday’s E3 Harelbeke. The Slovakian looked strong in the race, attacking from 30km out and contesting a two-man sprint finish that saw him cross the line second.
The 206.4km cobblestone classic, while not the longest, was plenty hard enough, taking in some of the most feared climbs of the Belgian landscape. The Tinkoff leader has plenty of experience riding these roads, having won the race in 2014.
In contrast to Sagan’s ride in 2014, which was won in a four-man sprint, the Tinkoff leader attacked from 30km out, with a strong break that stuck until the finish, taking second to Team Sky’s Michal Kwiatkowski.
From the outset, the racing was fast and furious, with the top contenders pushing hard and forming a group ahead of the bunch. The World Champion was working hard for much of the early part of the race, making sure that when the decisive moment came, he was in a position to contest the win.
The Slovakian rider’s experience in the race was clear, as he attacked after the race’s hardest climb, the Oude Kwaremont, 30km from the finish.
Directeur Sportif Tristan Hoffman, commended Sagan’s strategy “I think in the end Peter did a fantastic race today. He stayed calm until the Kwaremont, and was always at the front but not using too much energy. He sped up there and created a break before Fabian Cancellara came back after his mechanical.”
After the attack, the duo took it in turns, and from there the gap kept growing. Both riders looked comfortable and in control, and working together, the gap grew to as much as thirty-six seconds.
“It was a strong move when he got away with Kwiatkowski.” Hoffman continued. “Together they worked really well and gave it their all. They both did their part and in the sprint he just ran out of legs, and today Kwiatkowski was stronger at the end.”
Sagan concurred with his Directeur Sportif’s comments. “I did my attack and we were working together, but in the finish I was without energy and he was stronger than me. I think I did a lot of work in the finale and was without legs. I’m happy with how it went though – I didn’t crash, I was in the front.”
“I attacked to try to break the group after Cancellara came back to see what happened. Cycling is simple sometimes. I’ve got a fast finish but after a race like this, everything is different. In the last two kilometres the group was closing behind and I pulled a lot on the front and in the finale I ran out of legs.”
Hoffman was positive about the outcome, however. “Of course we are disappointed and we try to analyse what we could have done better, but at the end there were more teams behind with more than one rider and attack is sometimes the best form of defence otherwise if he had waited until the flat roads he would have again been isolated and alone. At the hard best moments he had the best legs today and he made the race.“
“This is good training after Milano-Sanremo for Flanders,” Sagan concluded, “and I’m keeping in good condition. We’ll see after Sunday how things will be ahead of Flanders.”
Race Result
1. Michal Kwiatkowski (POL) Team Sky 04:49:34
2. Peter Sagan (SVK) Tinkoff +00:00:04
3. Ian Stannard (GBR) Team Sky +00:00:11
4. Fabian Cancellara (SWI) Trek-Segafredo +00:00:11
5. Jasper Stuyven (BEL) Trek-Segafredo +00:00:11
