Five things to look out for at the Tour of Flanders 2022
9 min read
JUMBO-VISMA ARE THE Crew TO Beat, WITH OR Without the need of VAN AERT
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No doubt about it, this has been Jumbo-Visma’s spring so significantly. Wout van Aert has been the star of the campaign, successful equally Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and E3 Saxo Lender Classic, even though his recently employed staff-mates Christophe Laporte and Tiesj Benoot have been revelations, Laporte finishing next together with Van Aert at E3 SaxoBank Basic and then once more driving Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Materiaux), and Benoot relishing a leadership role on Wednesday to also position second at Dwars doorway Vlaanderen.
But they’ve been handed a sizeable blow on the eve of the race they’ve all been developing up toward, with Van Aert’s participation at Flanders less than huge doubt because of to a bout of disease.
The Belgian had been the very clear favorite to incorporate what would be a 2nd Monument to his palmarès to all of the other key Classics he has picked up in latest years, from Gent-Wevelgem and Amstel Gold in 2021 to Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and E3 Saxo Lender this year. But even if he is equipped to experience, it is unclear whether or not he’ll get there in top shape so soon immediately after becoming unwell.
Having said that a great deal of a blow this may well be for Van Aert, and for the Belgian general public, who had been placing their faith in Van Aert to protect against the nation’s barron operate at the Tour of Flanders from extending to a file-extended 5 editions devoid of a household winner, all is not misplaced for the Jumbo-Visma group. Benoot and in particular Laporte have been so strong on their own this spring that victory in the fashion of how Stijn Devolder triumphed in both of those the 2008 and 2009 editions in the job of decoy to workforce-mate Tom Boonen had seemed on the cards, and could effectively prosper as co-leaders in Van Aert’s absence.
With or with out Van Aert, Jumbo-Visma could properly however be the team to conquer.
Yet another WOMEN’S WORLDTOUR Sprint End?
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Will the women’s Tour of Flanders keep on the development this spring’s Classics by finishing in a bunch sprint, or will the attackers manage to finally fall the sprinters? That is the big concern heading into the Tour of Flanders.
Entire world champion Elisa Balsamo has been the large benefactor of this sample successful Trofeo Alfredo Binda, Typical Brugge-De Panne and Gent-Wevelgem again-to-again from sprints in teams at minimum 20 riders significant, to create herself as runaway leader in the WorldTour.
As fantastic a position as she has done to endure the climes in all those races, the parcours of the Tour of Flanders will talk to even increased inquiries of her resilience, specially with addition of the legendary Koppeberg to this year’s route. No Tour of Flanders considering the fact that the just one won by Coryn Labecki in 2017 has finished in a bunch dash — though, in a great indication for Balsamo, her existing crew-mate Ellen van Dijk was largely responsible for holding the race with each other that 12 months. The Dutchwoman has been in related form this spring, and will once again be tasked with chasing down any attacks, although Elisa Longo Borghini will also be on hand to cover moves.
Trek-Segafredo may possibly come across some allies at other groups who could also be gunning for a dash finish. This is most likely to be the tactic of DSM, whose leader Lorena Wiebes is one particular of only riders to have overwhelmed Balsamo in a dash complete so far this period. And it may possibly also be a state of affairs that Jumbo-Visma’s Marianne Vos offered her brief finishing kick, specially at the conclusion of such a wearying race, even though UAE Group ADQ may also request to chase for their respective sprinters Marta Bastianelli (who received the 2019 version) and Wednesday’s Dwars door Vlaanderen Winner Chiara Consonni.
But it certainly will not likely be defending winner Annemiek van Vleuten’s plan, nor that of other aggressive riders like Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) and the fearsome FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope trio of Grace Brown, Marta Cavalli and Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig. These riders will definitely do almost everything in their electric power to place the speedy finishers out of competition, and looking at them attempt to do so will make for a thrilling race.
IN Sort Youthful RIDERS Vs . WANING Outdated-TIMERS
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In current yrs, the consequence of the E3 Saxo Lender Common has established to be remarkably prophetic in phrases of what the outcome of the men’s Tour of Flanders will be. With the exception of 2020 (when it was not held), no rider considering the fact that 2016 has won the Ronde without both soloing to victory at that race the week before, or making the top rated four as portion of the decide on foremost team that makes it to the end with each other.
The Jumbo-Visma crew-mates Wout van Aert and Christophe Laporte completed initially and next at this year’s race getting ridden absent from the rest, illustrating Laporte’s favorite status even if Van Aert does overlook Sunday’s race. But the small chasing team that trailed them contained lots many others who can look at themselves potential winners.
Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ) was 3rd that day, the emphasize of what has been the very best classics marketing campaign of his career, although his historic problems at the Tour of Flanders — a race he has however to crack the top 40 of — suggests he could possibly not be as competitive on Sunday.
By contrast, the gentleman who finished at the rear of him in fourth that working day, Matej Mohorič (Bahrain-Victorious) frequently performs much better the longer a race is, which, on top of his variety, places him in a solid placement to incorporate a 2nd Monument to his Milan-San Remo title before this spring.
Jonathan Narvaez and Dylan van Baarle had been also existing in the group, giving Ineos Grenadiers plenty of solutions to enjoy on Sunday, although the latter’s remarkably reliable report of inserting in the top ten of 4 of the very last 6 editions may possibly make him their very best prospect.
Defending winner Kasper Asgreen rounded off that group, and currently seems to be like the only QuickStep-AlphaVinyl rider with the sort to contend for victory.
Other riders who had been off the pace at E3 Saxo Bank Common but have been in great variety somewhere else include Milan-San Remo runner up Anthony Turgis (TotalEnergies), Victor Campenaerts (Lotto-Soudal), who impressed mightily to put fourth at Dwars door Vlaanderen, and the acquainted Trek-Segafredo duo of Jasper Stuyven and Mads Pedersen, who have each had prime 10s in other Classics.
Apparently, all of the aforementioned riders are underneath 30 several years aged, though the tricenarians of the peloton have all commonly struggled to hold up. Greg van Avermaet, Oliver Naesen (Ag2r Citroën), Alexander Kristoff (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Materiaux), Matteo Trentin (UAE Crew Emirates) and Quick-Action Alpha Vinyl’s Zdeněk Štybar and Yves Lampaert will all be hoping that practical experience trumps form come Sunday.
SD WORX Deal with Obstacle TO Provide However A further FLANDERS VICTORY
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If the sample of recent several years is everything to go by, then SD Worx are owing a earn at this year’s Tour of Flanders. Given that 2014 they’ve gained the race every single other 12 months, each and every time with a unique rider, from Ellen van Dijk in 2014, to Lizzie Deignan in 2016, to Anna van der Breggen in 2018 and most recently Chantal van den Broek-Blaak in 2020.
The recent form of their riders is, on the other hand, not encouraging. So much they’ve managed just a few wins all time, of which only Lotte Kopecky’s victory at Strade Bianche arrived at the highest level. For a group made use of to dominating the peloton, that is a pretty underwhelming return.
They’ll deal with a twin threat of sprinters who would likely get the better of them in a massive team end, and of attackers capable of dropping all of their riders on the climbs — specifically, Annemiek Van Vleuten, who could nicely be eyeing up the Kopperberg as a launchpad for one of her trademark lengthy-range assaults.
Kopecky is a fast finisher, but not as swift as a rider like Balsamo, so it is important that she and some others are taken out of rivalry. And contrary to at the 2020 Tour of Flanders, the place Anna van der Breggen managed to neutralise Van Vleuten by masking her assaults, none of SD Worx’s riders have managed to continually match Van Vleuten this spring, suggesting the race may possibly engage in out like it did past year when no-one particular could follow her racing-successful assault on the Paterberg.
SD Worx will as a result have to try to engineer a circumstance where possibly Kopecky can sprint from a additional selective group absent of the faster finishers, or 1 that places them at a numerical edge, and consequently provides a chance for Marlen Reusser, Chantal van den Broek-Blaak or Demi Vollering to slip clear.
Factors haven’t absent their way so considerably this spring, but they still have the talent to declare what would be a fifth Tour of Flanders title in 9 yrs.
Unknown Quantities
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As critical as form usually is at the Tour of Flanders, from time to time riders who have gone less than the radar can spring a surprise.
Two of the riders who would have been tipped as possible winners of this race in the offseason have been largely absent this spring but appear to be coming into type at just the ideal time. Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) claimed victory on his incredibly initial day’s racing in Belgium this season at Dwars door Vlaanderen on Wednesday, so quickly appears to be able of repeating his 2020 victory at the Ronde, although Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) sprinted for 3rd behind him, indicating that he’s gotten more than the belly issues that have been bothering him.
Other riders like 2019 winner Alberto Bettiol (EF Schooling-EasyPost) and sixth-put finisher Michael Matthews (BikeExchange) enter Flanders acquiring so considerably ridden (and impressively so elsewhere absent from the cobblestones, whilst other individuals like Florian Sénéchal (Rapid-Move Alpha Vinyl) and Florian Vermeersch (Lotto-Soudal) have been troubled by back again luck with crashes and mechanicals, so it is really hard to know exactly wherever their variety is at.
And then there is the elephant in the place — Tadej Pogačar (UAE Group Emirates), who the cycling planet is itching to see what he can do on the cobbles. We experienced a glimpse in the course of his to start with outing on the cobbles on Wednesday at Dwars door Vlaanderen, where by the final results had been mixed, with him impressing by dropping riders on the cobbles, whilst also missing out on the crucial range, potentially thanks to lousy positioning and a deficiency of practical experience.
Some of the world’s most important names in the women’s peloton have hardly raced forward of the Tour of Flanders, and therefore their type is a little bit of a secret. Demi Vollering has only raced after due to the fact inserting 2nd powering Van Vleuten at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, but if she is at her greatest, then SD Worx will have a possibly decisive card to play on Sunday.
Marianne Vos has also minimal her 2022 appearances to just two, although the way she sprinted for 2nd at Gent-Wevelgem implies she’s not lacking any race sharpness. And ultimately past year’s runner-up Lisa Brennauer (Ceratizit-WNT) must not be published off as a potential winner regardless of only owning races 1 day this year, presented her outstanding record of obtaining put in the top rated 8 in just about every of the very last 4 editions.
