Kasper Asgreen beat Van der Poel in the sprint on the Tour of Flanders. – DAVID PINTENS / BELGA / AFP
Danish champion Kasper Asgreen (Deceuninck) beat Dutchman Mathieu Van der Poel to win the Tour of Flanders on Sunday in Oudernarde after 254 kilometers.
Asgreen edged van der Poel in a two-man sprint, in conclusion of this race behind closed doors, while the Dutchman, a much better sprinter than his rival of the day, paid in the last meters for his great efforts to get rid of Van Aert in old Quaremont, one of the most difficult cobbled climbs of the afternoon .
🚴 The Danish Kasper Asgreen (Deceuninck – Quick Step) wins the Tour of Flanders 2021 by beating, to everyone’s surprise, the defending champion Mathieu van der Poel in the sprint in Oudenaarde! @RondeVlaanderen #Cycling pic.twitter.com/Zs3YgPq6NP
– France tv sport (@francetvsport) April 4, 2021
The Belgian Greg Van Avermaet took third place in front of Stuyven, far ahead of Julian Alaphilippe who first formed a royal breakaway with Van Aert, Van der Poel and Asgreen, before suddenly switching off the contact at a little over 25 terminals of arrival, betrayed by his uncertain physical form.