Devolder wins Tour of Flanders
Published 4:18 pm Sunday, April 5, 2009
Associated Press
MEERBEKE, Belgium — Stijn Devolder of Belgium won the Tour of Flanders classic for the second time in a row, breaking away on the toughest climb for a solo victory ahead of Heinrich Haussler.
Devolder, a time-trial expert, broke away 12 miles from the finish and never wavered over the last stretch to win the 163-mile race in 6 hours, 1 minute, 8 seconds.
“Incredible,” Devolder said. “I lived for this moment.”
Haussler, who finished second at the Milan-San Remo race, broke away from the chasers in the final straight and just held off the sprinters, finishing 58 seconds behind Devolder.
The race was a big success for the Quick Step team, which always had riders at the head of the race. Tom Boonen controlled the pack from the back and never gave a chance to pre-race favorite Filippo Pozzato, who finished fourth behind Philippe Gilbert of Belgium.
The race was the second major classic of the season, along the winding, cobblestoned roads of northern Belgium with 16 short, steep climbs.
Mark Cavendish of Britain won the Milan-San Remo two weeks ago but did not compete Sunday, and the third major classic is next Sunday on the cobblestones of Paris-Roubaix.
Last year, Devolder broke away in the closing stages and could not be chased down by the rest of the world’s top one-day cyclists. Winning the race as a Fleming in northern Belgium’s Flanders two years in a row makes the rider a local hero.
Because of the sunny, dry conditions and lack of wind, the pack stayed together and only the last of the hills made a difference.
Devolder teammate Sylvain Chavanel of France and Manuel Quinziato of Italy broke open the race with a break that quickly reached half a minute, but were eventually joined by Devolder and Preben Van Hecke.
The quartet reached the toughest climb, the Wall of Geraadsbergen, with a lead of almost a minute. Then, Devolder put forward a sudden rush that no one could match.
Chavanel slowed Devolder’s chasers until they were gobbled up by the pack close to the finish.
“We clearly had the strongest team,” Devolder said.
