| 2023 UCI World Tour, race 14 of 35 | |||||||||||||
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 Event poster with previous winners Mathieu van der Poel and Lotte Kopecky | |||||||||||||
| Race details | |||||||||||||
| Dates | 2 April 2023 | ||||||||||||
| Stages | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Distance | 273.4 km (169.9 mi) | ||||||||||||
| Results | |||||||||||||
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The 107th edition of the Tour of Flanders one-day cycling classic took place on 2 April 2023, as the 14th event of the 2023 UCI World Tour. The race began in Bruges and covered 273.4 kilometres (169.9 mi) on the way to the finish in Oudenaarde.[1] It was the second Monument of the 2023 cycling season.
The race was won by Tadej Pogačar of UAE Team Emirates, becoming only the third rider in history to win both the Tour de France and the Tour of Flanders. After attacking on the second ascent of Oude Kwaremont and Koppenberg to force a selection, Pogačar attacked on the last ascent of the Oude Kwaremont with around 18 kilometres remaining to drop his rivals, soloing the remainder of the race to win his third different cycling monument and fourth overall.[2][3] Second place went to last year's winner, Mathieu van der Poel of Alpecin–Deceuninck, 16 seconds behind the Slovenian. Van der Poel, together with Wout van Aert, were the only riders able to go with Pogačar's initial attacks. Van der Poel dropped van Aert with an acceleration on the Kruisberg before getting distanced by the Slovene's race-winning attack. Third place went to Mads Pedersen of Trek–Segafredo after he outsprinted a group of seven to take the final podium spot. Pedersen was part of a group that went just after the Molenberg with around 100 kilometres remaining, holding a lead of three minutes over the main favorites at one point. Pedersen attacked the group with 30 kilometres to go before he was caught and passed by Pogačar and van der Poel on the second ascent of Oude Kwaremont.[4][5]
Filip Maciejuk of Team Bahrain Victorious was disqualified during the first half of the race after provoking a "huge accident" when rejoining the road.[6] Many in the peloton were taken down in the crash,[2] with Peter Sagan and Tim Wellens abandoning the race as a result.[6] Maciejuk subsequently apologised for his actions, stating "This should not happen and was a big error in my judgement."[6]
- ^ Ostanek, Daniel (2023-03-23). "Tour of Flanders 2023 route". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2023-04-03.
- ^ a b Marshall-Bell, Chris (2023-04-02). "Tadej Pogačar eyes Monument collection after superb Tour of Flanders win". cyclingweekly.com. Retrieved 2023-04-03.
- ^ "Slovenian Pogacar wins Tour of Flanders classic". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2023-04-03.
- ^ Marshall-Bell, Chris (2 April 2023). "Tadej Pogačar attacks on the Kwaremont to win a dramatic Tour of Flanders". CyclingWeekly. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
- ^ Ryan, Barry; Farrand, Stephen (2 April 2023). "Tour of Flanders: Tadej Pogačar wins alone after stunning Kwaremont attack". CyclingNews. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
- ^ a b c Marshall-Bell, Chris (2023-04-02). "Bahrain-Victorious rider apologises for causing huge Tour of Flanders crash: 'This should not happen'". cyclingweekly.com. Retrieved 2023-04-03.