Dutch rider Mathieu van der Poel won the Dwars door Vlaanderen one-day semi classic in Belgium on Wednesday, the final warm-up for Sunday’s Tour of Flanders. Van der Poel, riding for the Alpecin team, outgunned Belgium’s Tiesj Benoot to the finish line after breaking clear with 1 mile to go. Britain’s Tom Pidcock rounded out the podium, a five seconds behind the winner, after the 114 mile race that ended in Waregem.

The Ineos team with Pidcock attacked at the 42 mile mark, taking Van der Poel, but not Slovenia’s Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar. Pogacar was unable to make up lost ground on the leading pack, eventually coming in 10th.

DWARS DOOR VLAANDEREN RESULTS

1	Mathieu VAN DER POEL	Alpecin-Fenix	4:05:39
2	Tiesj BENOOT	Jumbo-Visma	0:01
3	Thomas PIDCOCK	INEOS Grenadiers	0:05
4	Victor CAMPENAERTS	Lotto Soudal	0:05
5	Nils POLITT	BORA – hansgrohe	0:05
6	Stefan KÜNG	Groupama – FDJ	0:05
7	Kelland O’BRIEN	Team BikeExchange – Jayco	0:05
8	Ben TURNER	INEOS Grenadiers	0:12
9	Jan TRATNIK	Bahrain – Victorious	2:08
10	Tadej POGAČAR	UAE Team Emirates	2:08

 

RBA/AFP Photos: Sprint Cycling Agency