Peter Sagan (Tinkoff Team) crushed the opposition to win the 2016 Tour of Flanders by 25 seconds from Fabian Cancellara (Trek-Segafredo) with Sep Vanmarcke (Team LottoNl-Jumbo) third. Last years winner Alexander Kristoff (Team Katusha) finished fourth leading home a group of nine riders chasing the leaders.

The first half of the Ronde van Vlaanderen was marred by crashes the most notable being Greg Van Avermaet who broke a collarbone in a crash where four BMC riders went down. Young Belgian Tiesj Benoot and Marcus Burghardt were caught in another crash and withdrew while Milan-San Remo winner Arnaud Demare also abandoned after crashing.

How The Race Was Won

2016 Tour of Flanders winning move
Michal Kwiatkowski and Peter Sagan attack with Fabian Cancellara remaining in the peloton | via Eurosport

The race winning move came with 33km remaining shortly after the peloton caught the G2 group that included Team Sky’s Ian Stanndard. Sky had four riders in the reduced peloton at this point and after a discussion among them Michal Kwiatkowski attacked less than 500 metres later. Peter Sagan put himself in the right place and followed his wheel as they gaped the peloton.

Behind Fabian Cancellara left the chasing to team mate Stijn Devolder who then eased up as if Sagan and Kwiatkowski were no threat, Vanmarcke attacked out of the peloton bridging to the two in front. In the next 5km Sagan, Kwiatkowski and Vanmarcke worked together putting 30 seconds into the peloton and closing the gap to the break down to 20 seconds before catching them approaching Oude Kwaremont.

Sagan with Vanmarcke on his wheel gaped everyone on the Oude Kwaremont as Fabian Cancellara was closing fast from the peloton with only Niki Terpstra able to follow him bringing a group back onto Cancellara’s wheel after the Oude Kwaremont.

Starting the final climb of the Paterberg Sagan and Vanmarcke had 14 seconds on the chasing Cancellara group, Sagan was too strong on the Paterberg for Vanmarcke and pulled away with ease on the steeper section to go it alone to the finish with 13km left. Cancellara caught Vanmarcke at the top of the Paterberg as the two set about the chase to close the 15 seconds.

Peter Sagan was simply to strong for the two chasers and pulled away to win by 25 seconds from Cancellara who was doing most of the chasing, Vanmarcke conceded second place as Cancellara opened his sprint. Peter Sagan has won his first monument and it was a powerful and tactically brilliant display, he took awhile when initially deciding to commit to the Kwiatkowski attack but once he did there was no turning back and it was only a matter of which of the climbs he went alone on to win.

Results of the 2016 Tour of Flanders

Place Rider Name (Country) Team Result
1 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff Team 6:10:37
2 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Trek-Segafredo 0:00:25
3 Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) Team LottoNl-Jumbo 0:00:28
4 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Team Katusha 0:00:49
5 Luke Rowe (GBr) Team Sky
6 Dylan Van Baarle (Ned) Cannondale Pro Cycling
7 Imanol Erviti (Spa) Movistar Team
8 Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Etixx – Quick-Step
9 Dimitri Claeys (Bel) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
10 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Etixx – Quick-Step
11 Lars Boom (Ned) Astana Pro Team
12 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky
13 Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step 0:00:56
14 Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:01:00
15 Tom Boonen (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step
16 Daniel Oss (Ita) BMC Racing Team 0:01:02
17 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:01:16
18 Laurens De Vreese (Bel) Astana Pro Team
19 Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) BMC Racing Team
20 Scott Thwaites (GBr) Bora-Argon 18
21 Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Orica-GreenEdge
22 Oliver Naesen (Bel) IAM Cycling
23 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Dimension Data
24 Marco Marcato (Ita) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
25 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team
26 Oscar Gatto (Ita) Tinkoff Team 0:01:45
27 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Team Sky 0:01:57
28 André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Soudal 0:02:01
29 Michael Morkov (Den) Team Katusha
30 Gijs Van Hoecke (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise 0:02:03
31 Damien Gaudin (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
32 Ian Stannard (GBr) Team Sky 0:02:09
33 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Direct Energie 0:05:35
34 Matteo Trentin (Ita) Etixx – Quick-Step
35 Juan Jose Lobato Del Valle (Spa) Movistar Team 0:07:19
36 Luka Mezgec (Slo) Orica-GreenEdge
37 Tom Devriendt (Bel) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
38 Edward Theuns (Bel) Trek-Segafredo
39 Tom Van Asbroeck (Bel) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
40 Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto Soudal
41 Jasper De Buyst (Bel) Lotto Soudal
42 Roger Kluge (Ger) IAM Cycling
43 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Soudal
44 Mickael Delage (Fra) FDJ
45 Juraj Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff Team
46 Adrien Petit (Fra) Direct Energie
47 Sjoerd Van Ginneken (Ned) Roompot – Oranje Peloton
48 Timo Roosen (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
49 Frederik Backaert (Bel) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
50 Jasha Sütterlin (Ger) Movistar Team
51 Stijn Steels (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise
52 Antoine Duchesne (Can) Direct Energie
53 Magnus Cort Nielsen (Den) Orica-GreenEdge
54 Gatis Smukulis (Lat) Astana Pro Team
55 Toms Skujins (Lat) Cannondale Pro Cycling
56 Mike Teunissen (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
57 Jesse Sergent (NZl) AG2R La Mondiale
58 Zakkari Dempster (Aus) Bora-Argon 18
59 Berden De Vries (Ned) Roompot – Oranje Peloton
60 Stefan Kueng (Swi) BMC Racing Team
61 Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team
62 Tim Declercq (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise
63 Pim Ligthart (Ned) Lotto Soudal
64 Andrey Amador Bikkazakova (CRc) Movistar Team
65 Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin
66 Alexandre Pichot (Fra) Direct Energie
67 Bert De Backer (Bel) Team Giant-Alpecin
68 Reto Hollenstein (Swi) IAM Cycling
69 Jaroslaw Marycz (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
70 Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor) IAM Cycling
71 Luke Durbridge (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
72 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Sky
73 Andreas Schillinger (Ger) Bora-Argon 18
74 Preben Van Hecke (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise
75 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Southeast – Venezuela
76 Alan Marangoni (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling
77 Gianni Moscon (Ita) Team Sky
78 Sébastien Minard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
79 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Trek-Segafredo
80 Markel Irizar Aranburu (Spa) Trek-Segafredo
81 Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Team Katusha
82 Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Team Sky
83 Bjorn Thurau (Ger) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
84 Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
85 Jan Barta (Cze) Bora-Argon 18
86 Pavel Brutt (Rus) Tinkoff Team
87 Zico Waeytens (Bel) Team Giant-Alpecin
88 Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg (RSA) Dimension Data
89 Nils Politt (Ger) Team Katusha
90 Mitchell Docker (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
91 Maarten Wynants (Bel) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
92 Pieter Weening (Ned) Roompot – Oranje Peloton
93 Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin
94 Stijn Devolder (Bel) Trek-Segafredo 0:07:32
95 Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo 0:12:48
96 Murilo Antonio Fischer (Bra) FDJ
97 Olivier Le Gac (Fra) FDJ
98 Yohann Gene (Fra) Direct Energie
99 Iljo Keisse (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step
100 Simone Ponzi (Ita) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
101 Michal Golas (Pol) Team Sky
102 Adrian Kurek (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
103 Josef Cerny (Cze) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
104 Federico Zurlo (Ita) Lampre – Merida
105 Tomasz Kiendys (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
106 Jesper Asselman (Ned) Roompot – Oranje Peloton
107 Nikolas Maes (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step
108 Michael Gogl (Aut) Tinkoff Team
109 Ryan Anderson (Can) Direct Energie
110 Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) FDJ
111 Hugo Houle (Can) AG2R La Mondiale
112 Tony Martin (Ger) Etixx – Quick-Step
113 Marco Haller (Aut) Team Katusha
114 Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Cannondale Pro Cycling
115 Michel Kreder (Ned) Roompot – Oranje Peloton
116 Sergey Lagutin (Rus) Team Katusha
117 Tyler Farrar (USA) Dimension Data
118 Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek-Segafredo
DNF Aleksei Tcatevich (Rus) Team Katusha
DNF Viacheslav Kuznetsov (Rus) Team Katusha
DNF Adam Blythe (GBr) Tinkoff Team
DNF Michal Kolár (Svk) Tinkoff Team
DNF Nikolay Trusov (Rus) Tinkoff Team
DNF Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Lotto Soudal
DNF Jelle Wallays (Bel) Lotto Soudal
DNF Grégory Rast (Swi) Trek-Segafredo
DNF Marco Coledan (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
DNF Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team
DNF Manuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC Racing Team
DNF Michael Schär (Swi) BMC Racing Team
DNF Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing Team
DNF Bram Tankink (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
DNF Robert Wagner (Ger) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
DNF Matt Brammeier (Irl) Dimension Data
DNF Nick Dougall (RSA) Dimension Data
DNF Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Dimension Data
DNF Mark Renshaw (Aus) Dimension Data
DNF Jay Robert Thomson (RSA) Dimension Data
DNF Gediminas Bagdonas (Ltu) AG2R La Mondiale
DNF Maxime Daniel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
DNF Nico Denz (Ger) AG2R La Mondiale
DNF Sébastien Turgot (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
DNF Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Astana Pro Team
DNF Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Astana Pro Team
DNF Jack Bauer (NZl) Cannondale Pro Cycling
DNF Alberto Bettiol (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling
DNF Matti Breschel (Den) Cannondale Pro Cycling
DNF Kristoffer Skjerping (Nor) Cannondale Pro Cycling
DNF Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ
DNF Marc Sarreau (Fra) FDJ
DNF Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ
DNF Johan Le Bon (Fra) FDJ
DNF Heinrich Haussler (Aus) IAM Cycling
DNF Martin Elmiger (Swi) IAM Cycling
DNF Dries Devenyns (Bel) IAM Cycling
DNF Aleksejs Saramotins (Lat) IAM Cycling
DNF Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre – Merida
DNF Gang Xu (Chn) Lampre – Merida
DNF Chun Kai Feng (Tpe) Lampre – Merida
DNF Roberto Ferrari (Ita) Lampre – Merida
DNF Marko Kump (Slo) Lampre – Merida
DNF Sacha Modolo (Ita) Lampre – Merida
DNF Luka Pibernik (Slo) Lampre – Merida
DNF Jorge Arcas Pena (Spa) Movistar Team
DNF Nelson Filipe Santos Simoes Oliveira (Por) Movistar Team
DNF Dayer Uberney Quintana Rojas (Col) Movistar Team
DNF Francisco José Ventoso Alberdi (Spa) Movistar Team
DNF Sam Bewley (NZl) Orica-GreenEdge
DNF Jack Haig (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
DNF Svein Tuft (Can) Orica-GreenEdge
DNF Søren Kragh Andersen (Den) Team Giant-Alpecin
DNF Nikias Arndt (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin
DNF Koen De Kort (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin
DNF Albert Timmer (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin
DNF Jonas Rickaert (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise
DNF Amaury Capiot (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise
DNF Bert Van Lerberghe (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise
DNF Pieter Vanspeybrouck (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise
DNF Jérôme Baugnies (Bel) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
DNF Kenny De Haes (Bel) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
DNF Kevin Van Melsen (Bel) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
DNF Shane Archbold (NZl) Bora-Argon 18
DNF Ralf Matzka (Ger) Bora-Argon 18
DNF Michael Schwarzmann (Ger) Bora-Argon 18
DNF Lukas Pöstlberger (Aut) Bora-Argon 18
DNF Nikolay Mihaylov (Bul) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
DNF Michal Paluta (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
DNF Patryk Stosz (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
DNF Romain Cardis (Fra) Direct Energie
DNF Julien Morice (Fra) Direct Energie
DNF Kai Reus (Ned) Roompot – Oranje Peloton
DNF Wesley Kreder (Ned) Roompot – Oranje Peloton
DNF Ivar Slik (Ned) Roompot – Oranje Peloton
DNF Andrea Dal Col (Ita) Southeast – Venezuela
DNF Giuseppe Fonzi (Ita) Southeast – Venezuela
DNF Matteo Draperi (Ita) Southeast – Venezuela
DNF Mirko Tedeschi (Ita) Southeast – Venezuela
DNF Mirko Trosino (Ita) Southeast – Venezuela
DNF Enrique Sanz (Spa) Southeast – Venezuela
DNS Andrea Fedi (Ita) Southeast – Venezuela

Race report by TBL – The Bike Lane

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