OUDENAARDE: UAE Team Emirates put three riders in the top 5 of the Tour of Flanders by obtaining the 3rd, 4th and the 5th places with Nils Politt, Mikkel Bjerg and Antonio Morgado.
The race, which started from Antwerp and finished under the rain in Oudenaarde (270.8 km) was dominated by Mathieu Van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck): the World Champion jumped on the leading duo of Pedersen (Lidl-Treck) and Vermeersch (Alpecin-Deceuninck) on the Oude Kwaremont at 56 km to go, then a group of 20 riders took the lead of the race before Van der Poel pushed hard on the Koppenberg at -45 km.
No one could join the Dutchman who celebrated his 3rd victory in the ‘Ronde’.
Behind the World Champion a very interesting battle for the podium saw various protagonists. Alberto Bettiol (Ef-EasyPost) and Dylan Teuns (Israel-Pemier Tech) formed a duo that seemed destined to reach the final straight in Oudenaarde, but behind them UAE Team Emirates could rely on four riders for the chase: Tim Wellens, Nils Politt, Mikkel Bjerg and
the debutant Antonio Morgado.
The duo were caught when the sprint for second place began. Politt was very well led out, but a change of direction caused him to be boxed on the fence on the right side of the road, so he crossed the line in 4th position, behind Luca Mozzato (Arkea-B and B) and Michael Matthews (Jayco-Alula).
Matthews was later relegated which meant Politt stepped up to the podium (3rd).
The successful day for UAE Team Emirates was completed by the 4th place of Bjerg and the 5th by Morgado, in addition to the 12th of Wellens.
Politt said, ‘I was already at the team bus and then the call came saying I was third. I’m super happy with this result, being on the podium of the Tour of Flanders is something special, this is my second time on a podium of a Monumentum after the one at the Paris-Roubaix.
“We deserved this result as a team because we rode very well today, with 4 riders in the top 12. For what concerns the sprint, I can say I was coming with speed and I had to brake a little bit. The c
ommissaires took this decision, I feel also sorry for Matthews.’
Source: Emirates News Agency