textbook
in Ghent it seems the split has left a lot of folks missing and it seems to be holding around 55"
surprised DQS missed out so far

I was not expecting Demare to bust this open.

i missed Bennett in that first group

I was about to comment on Bennet's great ride... Ouch.

So many sprinters in this group. Interesting

Also, i doubt the sharpness of their kicks would be the same after driving the break. Still all to play for though.

Am impressed by Bennett

I'm surprised he is still riding after vomiting on camera!

Twice. And he barely missed a turn.

All to kick off after they leave Ypres. Should be an attack fest coming up

two tickets punched

You nailed it!

and I gave up on Matthews.......durn

I can't tell if Matthews has ridden intelligently or if he doesn't have great legs.

the sprinters all look like shit hen they are in the break. like body position is all wrong. same goes for Cobrelli

it's a true sprinter's classic alright, except the sprinters all conspired to be in the break

interesting; 5 kms left, still taking turns...
Kung should be attacking

Kung agrees ;)

However this turn out, van Hooydonck is the rider of the day. Mega.

i guess they were all knackered

holy s*** what an epic day. not as epic as the 2015 edition, but still...

van Aert had a great quote pre race. Basically to the effect that he isn't the fastest guy in Belgium, but at the end of a hard 250k he backs himself. JV had a perfect race and Wout capped it nicely.

Gah— how are both races over so early!! I just looked at CN to see how far our and they’re both over. Guess I just saved 2 hours of screen time...

The dude really love Catalonia. So many victories there. This is his second win in Barcelona.

Have to say, pretty nice podium sweep in Spain.

Wout looked peak. GvA and Sagan seem to have really good form. MvdP is MvdP.

Next Suday is going to be awesome.

Spot on (maybe not Sagan!). Ineos brought a Grand Tour squad and owned the entire peloton.

The cross kids are ridiculous and I do agree GvA is looking on form lately. I desperately hope Sagan is on form but I just don't trust it yet.

Thanks for that reminder. His other win there was legendary. I need to dig up the clips.

The women's GW is taking off. Really nice action. I wish there were parcours that suited Ludwig. She is an absolute beast of a rider. She should not have the power to contend in these flat races, but always does. If things are selective she seems to make the selection. The women's races need some more pure climbing arenas to showcase someone of her talent.

smart racing by Trek. Pieters getting a free ride

Vos crazy like a demented fox for missing that

Full confession, i meant it as a fox whose mind slipped

Instead she went full on crazy fox, launching from 300 meters to go, after a hard race. Chapeau

btw, you all get the pun about the fox, right?