The years go by and are similar on the cobbles of the Nieuwsblad, the first cobbled classic of the cycling season. In 2023, the Jumbo-Visma team announced its future domination over the Flandrians by propelling Dylan Van Baarle to an unexpected solo victory. In 2024, it is another backer of the Dutch team, Jan Tratnik, who took advantage of a disjointed race scenario in the finale to leave the favorites behind and raise his arms to Ninove.
The 34-year-old Slovenian, who had not won all of last season, had not yet shown the tip of his nose all afternoon, and only made his only, decisive attack. around ten kilometers from the finish, when all the cobbled hills had already been swallowed up by the peloton.
Taking advantage of a moment of delay, the winner in fact left with the German rider Nils Politt (UAE) on a flat portion: the duo maintained around fifteen seconds ahead of what remained of the pack until the last hectometers, where Tratnik easily won in the sprint.
Six big names at the front in the mountains
Before this unexpected outcome, the race was very lively and the big names went to war with each other for a long time. Halfway through the race, a group of 30 riders, including almost all the favorites, broke away, forcing the rest of the peloton to lead a grueling pursuit. In Wolvenberg, 55 km from the finish, the Visma-Lease a bike team toughened up the race and allowed six riders to emerge: Wout van Aert, Christophe Laporte, Matteo Jorgenson, Tom Skujins, Tom Pidcock and Arnaud De Related.
This group maintained a tenuous advance in the intertwining mountains and small Flandrian roads, before Jorgenson attacked in the finale. Leading at the top of the Mur de Grammont, the emblematic difficulty of the region, the American runner ended up being caught on the last climb of the course, the Bosberg, by the peloton which had just reformed behind him.
It was then that Tratnik and Politt took advantage of the situation to make a run for it. The domination of the Visma is total since Wout van Aert, by winning the peloton sprint, slipped onto the final podium, ahead of the Frenchman Christophe Laporte, fifth and already very strong for his recovery.
Black day for Alaphilippe
Julian Alaphilippe, who would have liked to respond this Saturday to the attacks of his manager Patrick Lefevere, experienced a dark day, marked by two falls, a first without seriousness 100 km from the line, then another, much heavier this one, at the start of a turn 25 km from the line. Ragged on the right flank, the Frenchman gave up, just like Florian Sénéchal (Arkéa-Samsic), caught in the same fall and visibly injured in the collarbone.
