Philipsen wins Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen 2021

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Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Fenix) emerged from a hectic, high-speed finale to win the Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen one-day race in Belgium in Koolskamp.

No one team was able to control the peloton and the lead out in the final kilometres, with even Deceuninck-QuickStep swamped and overtaken. Philipsen was dropped off near the front in the final 500 metres and then used his sprinter's instincts to find a way through to open up his sprint.

Dylan Groenewegen (Jumbo-Visma) tried to come-up late but could only finish second, while Martin Laas (Bora-Hansgrohe) was third. Surprisingly, Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck-QuickStep) finished out of the top ten.

The 195km race covered 13 laps of a flat circuit around the village of Koolskamp between Bruges and Kortrijk to award the symbolic Flanders championship title.

The early break included Stephen Bassett (Rally Cycling) and Australians Ethan Batt (Black Spoke Pro Cycling Academy) and Samuel Jenner (Team BridgeLane). They opened a two-minute gap but were never allowed to gain more, with Sam Bennett doing some of the work on his return to racing with Deceuninck-QuickStep after four months out of action and criticism from team manager Patrick Lefevere.

Britain's Charlie Quarterman (Trek-Segafredo) jumped across to the break with 60km to go and eventually split the break with 27km to go. Only Quarterman and Jenner were clear as the bell rang out for the start of the final 15km lap. But the peloton was just behind them and the two were in sight and then caught. 

Deceuninck-QuickStep and Jumbo-Visma tried to control the peloton and lead out the sprint in the final kilometres but the wide roads made it easy for other teams to come up from behind.

Philipsen and his Alpecin-Fenix team seemed too far back going into the more technical final kilometre but the Belgian somehow found a way through. He jumped into Matteo Moschetti's slipstream after Trek-Segafredo lead out the sprint to take his sixth win of the season in his first race since the Vuelta a Espana.

"It's great to win after the Vuelta. You never know how your legs feel after a break from racing but the team was there for me and that lifted my confidence," Philipsen said.

"There were some top sprinters here. It wasn't a very difficult race but we weren't sat on the sofa all day either and so we knew it'd be a fight.

"The chicane in the finish also made it more complex, you had to be careful not to be boxed in. Fortunately I could do my sprint."