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Tour of Flanders 2018

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Hello and Happy Easter from the Tour of Flanders. 

The minutes are counting down to the start of this year's race. 

The riders are currently signing on after riding to the stage in the central square. 

It was raining earlier but appears to have stopped. 

This is the view across Antwerp. 

EF Education-Drapac sign on.

We''re getting close to the 10:30 roll out, with the official race start at 10:45 local time.  

Sep Vanmarcke is a big favourite today. 

Sep spoke briefly after sign on.

Next up was Peter Sagan with his Bora-Hansgrohe team.

Sagan made his now famous "We'll see" prediction.

The riders are now lining up at the start after following the yellow carpet to the start line.

It's grey and just 7C in Antwerp and so the riders are wrapped up with warm clothes, head bands and neck warmers.

A lot is expected from Greg van Avermaet today. 

"I'll be trying to spot my friends and family along the road. Then I'll focus on the rivals," he said at the start.

Here we go! They're off! 

The riders roll out and begin the 9.3km neutralised sector.

The EF riders are near the back of the peloton, while 2017 winner Gilbert is near the front.

Most riders are wearing leg warmers, overshoes and gloves. 

The riders are passing under the Scheldt river. Some of them will be back here on Wednesday for the Scheldeprijs race. 

Several riders are pulling on capes during the neutralised sector.

At the front of the peloton lots of riders from the minor teams are waiting for the flag to drop to try and go in the early break of the day. 

The boats on the river show that the wind could be a factor today.

The flag drops! Race on!

265km to go in the 102nd edition of the Tour of Flanders.

We immediately see some attacks and the peloton is lined out. 

The Roompot riders are active, trying to get into breaks. 

No break has formed yet but there have been several flats, including Marcel Sieberg of Lotto Soudal. 

Golas of Sky has a problem with a wheel. He stops behind the team car to get help.

255km remaining from 262km

The road are still wet but the riders are heading south were the weather is expected to be better.   

Crash! 

Several riders went down, including Sep Vanmarcke.  

He gets away quickly but that will raise the tension in the race.

Alberto Bettiol of BMC is still sat on the road.

He seemed to go down hard after tangling with another rider. 

Vanmarcke stops so the EF mechanic can straighten his bars.

The peloton seems to have eased slightly as Vanmarcke chases back on in.  

A lot of riders are keen to go in the early break but big teams have riders up there marshalling the moves to control who goes up the road.

From the CN blimp we can see Luke Rowe for Team Sky, Ilio Kiesse for Quick Step Floors and Juraj Sagan for Bora. 

248km remaining from 262km

Both Vanmarcke and Bettiol are about to return to the peloton after the early crash.

The men are passing through Saint-Niklaas, where the race started for a long spell. 

This image is from our friends at Voxwomen and shows the start of the women's race.

The women face 150km of racing, 11 Hellingen climbs and 5 sectors of cobbles.

To better understand how the women's race will unfold, click here to read our full women's Tour of Flanders preview.

Back in the men's race, we've had another tumble. 

The speed is high now with several groups forming off the front. The elastic is stretching. 

234km remaining from 262km

The men snake through the streets of Zogge, Greg van Avermaet's home village. 

Pascal Eenkhoorn (LottoNL-Jumbo) has opened a slight gap on the peloton but they are not letting him go clear.

It seems the reduction in team sizes to seven-rider teams is making the peloton more cautious about who they let go.

Bahrain-Merida is active at the head of the race, trying to force a break. 

223km remaining from 262km

Heinrich Haussler is at the back of the peloton after a change of bikes.

220km remaining from 262km

The women race is also still all together as they hit the first sector of cobbles.

The men reach Berlare, the home of Oliver Naesen. 

Riders keep trying to jump away from the peloton but nothing is being allowed to go away.

The crowds are huge along the road. They now have their umbrella's out as the rain comes down.

Greg van Avermaet said he'd look for his family and friends in Zogge and is currently at the back of the peloton, protected by several BMC teammates. 

He needs to be careful because there is a split at the head of the race.

210km remaining from 262km

The elastic has yet to snap with riders looking for the glory of the early break and others riding tactically to keep the race together. 

Further south the women are racing under heavy rain. 

After 25km of the WRVV, there have been several attacks but the race is all together.

203km remaining from 262km

Incredibly there is a car on the men's route in the centre of Aalst. The peloton moves around the car safely but that was a dangerous moment.

200km remaining from 262km

Alexander Kristoff is at the back of the peloton to get some help with his saddle. 

The high speed and the lack of a breakaway could make for a very different race in the finale. 

194km remaining from 262km

After 70km of attacks and chasing, the peloton has eased, allowing a move to go clear. 

A touch of wheels and crash also slows the peloton.

The crash has split the peloton. 

Several riders have stopped for a natural break. The pace is slow in the peloton now, so lots of riders are stopping or dropping back to get food and drinks or drop of capes.

The break's lead is up to 1:30. 

188km remaining from 262km

Behind the big teams have started to lead the chase or at least set the tempo.

Tim Declercq and Iljo Keisse are working for Quick-Step.

Team Sky also have several riders up front, as do BMC, protecting van Avermaet.

185km remaining from 262km

We'll have all the names of the 11 riders in the move very soon.  

180km remaining from 262km

178km remaining from 262km

The breaks hits the Paddestraat, the second sector of cobbles. 

The riders are looking for some smooth road but even the drain is made from cobbles here.   

173km remaining from 262km

The peloton exits the cobbles with caution but they are pulling back the break, the gap is down to 1:50.

Luke Durbridge takes a new front wheel from a road-side mechanic.

Early crash victim Alberto Bettiol of BMC is at the back. He seems in pain. 

Back on the road, several riders are eating and taking off gloves and head bands. 

Behind cyclocross world champion Wout van Aert calls for his team car. 

The women's race is back in Oudenaarde, with 90km to go. 

Cyclingnews has Barry Ryan, Patrick Fletcher, Sadhbh O'Shea, Josh Evans and our local expert Brecht Decaluwé on the ground at the Tour of Flanders. 

Gilbert drops back to the tam car and just after Stybar needs a front wheel change.

Van Aert was soon back in the peloton. He admitted he was excited to make his debut today but also keen to fight for victory. 

160km remaining from 262km

Vanmarcke is back with his team car to get some help from the mechanic.

158km remaining from 262km

The men's race passes through Oudenaarde but face a lot of racing before the finish here. 

Jose Goncalves (Katusha) decides to head to the team bus here rather than continue in the rain.

The women are in the middle of the 11 Hellingen now as the men pass through the feed zone and grab their lunch.  

150km remaining from 262km

The legendary climb is the of 18 Hellingen the riders face in this year's Tour of Flanders.

In the women's race the climbs are sparking the first real selection. Riders are being dropped as the strongest emerge.

We're hearing that Emilia Fahlin has crashed and quit the race after the women covered the Berendries.

The men are approaching the Oude Kwaremont and are lucky to find dry roads for the iconic climb. 

145km remaining from 262km

Some riders in the break switch to the strip of dirt alongside the cobbles, others stay on the ridge of the cobbles.

The peloton squeezes as it enters the narrow road to the foot of the Kwaremont.

143km remaining from 262km

The riders bounce over the cobbles. The crowds are huge here. 

The peloton makes is safely over the Kwaremont. 

But in the women's race there has been a big crash. 

At least a dozen riders went down. at speed as they raced to the foot of the Muur-Kapelmuur.

It seems that Hosking and Gutierrez crashed.

There are 60km to go in the women's race.

Only 20 or so riders avoided the crash and form the front group now in the women's race. 

Marianne Vos leads the women over the Muur.

The crash has split the women's peloton into several groups. The cobbles are wet and so the women take it cautiously on the decent. 

We should see a regrouping on the main road as teams reset their race tactics.

In the men's race the peloton heads to the second hellingen. There are seven climbs in the next 50km. 

The peloton comes to the top of the Kortekeer, but such is the pace, Iljo Keisse has time to sit up, take his helmet off and remove his casquette as he leads the way. 

The peloton is strung out with a couple of minor splits as they return to the wide main roads. No sweat, at this point, though, and it starts to bunch up once more.

There's been something of a regrouping in the women's race, with 35-40 riders out front. 2017 champion Coryn Rivera is in there. 

Problems for Oliver Naesen. It looks like a mechanical issue, rather than physical. The Belgian champion, of course, injured his knee on Wednesday but was cleared to start today.

124km remaining from 262km

Bora and Quick-Step both fight for the front spot as the peloton hits the Wolvenberg. It's a tarmacked climb, 645 metres long at 7.9%. 

The Wolvenberg leads into the Holleweg sector of cobbles. Juraj Sagan takes to the front for Bora. 

After a spate of attacks, things have calmed down again in the women's race with just under 50km, and five climbs, to go. 

And here are BMC... Fran Ventoso hits the front and Van Avermaet is in his wheel. The pace has increased. 

Ian Stannard now takes over for Team Sky. The peloton are on their way to the Haghoek sector of cobbles, which leads into the Leberg climb. 

115km remaining from 262km

FDJ lead the bunch on Haghoek as the break hit the top of the Leberg. 

FDJ still have two riders ahead of Arnaud Demare as they lead onto the Leberg. It's 950 metres long with a fluctuating gradient that averages out to 4.2%. 

111km remaining from 262km

There's no real let-up in this phase of the race. Up front the breakaway riders hit the Berendries (940m at 7%). 3:15 is the gap. 

The peloton is packed tight for the Berendries.

108km remaining from 262km

The peloton reach the top together and begin a wet descent.

FDJ has decided to take control of the peloton. 

The went descent sees riders take to the footpath on a right turn. 

It's a busy race for EF mechanics. After Langeveld needs help, Scully flats.

The speed is high because the riders know the Oude Kwaremont is close. 

All the big teams are trying to position their leaders near the front.

They all know the race 'started' big time last year.

Crash!!!

Naesen is involved. Stannard too.

Valgren and Lutsenko too. 

Schar of BMC also crashed. 

97km remaining from 262km

Riders went into the ditch on both sides of the road.

Riders are trying to chase in the cars but the race is definitely 'on'.

We said the riders are approaching the Kwaremont but we meant the Kapelmuur. 

95km remaining from 262km

As expected, the Muur smashes the break, leaving the weakest behind. 

Cortina is the first to the top. 

Here comes the peloton.

Benoot and Van Aert are near the front as the Muur kicks in. 

The rough cobbles and steep climb lines out the peloton, making position vital. 

Sagan is covered on the wheels.

Fortunately for the men, the cobbles are now dry.

Naesen is further back as he chases after the crash.

Naesen is close to 2:00 behind. It will be almost impossible for him to close that gap.

As the men's race settles for the final 90km of racing, why not listen to the Cyclingnews podcast to prepare for the decisive attacks. 

The men get a chance to catch their break for the next 20km and so we're going to switch our coverage to the finale of the women's race. 

The women are about to hit the double decisive whammy of the Oude Kwaremont and the Paterberg.

Anna van der Breggen still leads by 1:00. 

Anna van der Breggen spins over the Kwaremont despite some boos from the partisan Belgian crowd. 

Behind her the peloton is splitting under the effort. 

D'hoore is further back, as is Rivera. 

15km to go in the women's race. 

She stomps on the pedals as the Paterberg begins.

After all the rain, the sun is out now.  

Anna van der Breggen gets some help from a tailwind but needs to go deep now to stay away.

Katarzyna Niewiadoma is strongest behind but reaches the top of the Paterberg 40 seconds down. 

In the men's race, the remains of the early break is about to be caught but the peloton has been split into different groups. 

80km to go in the men's race.

Katarzyna Niewiadoma has been joined by three other riders but van der Breggen is still over a minute clear.

She's focused on time trailing to the finish.

Anna van der Breggen made her move between the Kruisberg and Hotond climbs, with 28km to go.

With 7km to go, she's extending her lead past 1:30.

In the chasing quartet are Annemiek van Vleuten, Katarzyna Niewiadoma, Ashleigh Moolman and Amy Pieters. But they struggling to pull back time.

The Boels team car comes up along Anna van der Breggen to enjoy the moment. She is about to win the Tour of Flanders.

Anna van der Breggen passes through an exposed section but her leads is still 1:30. 

Behind Anna van der Breggen the two chase groups come together. Boels have 3 riders behind who have been able to sit on. 

Anna van der Breggen enters the final km. 

Van Dijk closes the gap between the chase groups. It will be a thrilling sprint for the podium. 

Here comes Anna van der Breggen. She's going to win solo. 

Anna van der Breggen begins to celebrate with 200m to go. 

What a win for Anna van der Breggen.

She hits the finish tired but very happy. 

Boels enjoy a 1-2 with Amy Pieters taking second.   

Annemiek van Vleuten was third for Mitchelton-Scott.

Interesting to see UCI officials tag bikes at the finish, no doubt to be x-rayed for mechanical doping.  

Back in the men's race the peloton is pretty much compact with 65km to go. 

To read more about the women's race and see our photo gallery, click here.

Van der Breggen spoke about her win before the podium.

As Anna van der Breggen and Boels Dolmans celebrate victory at the women's Tour of Flanders, we're going to head to the men's race for the final 60km of racing. 

We will have full coverage, news and interviews from the women's race.

As we focus on the men's race the peloton starts the Oude Kwaremont again. 

Mitch Docker crashes. He fell slowly but rolled into the barbed wire.  

As the cobbles begin, there's a shake out as Yves Lampaert ups the speed for Quick Step. 

The peloton is going to split. 

Sagan and others are in the second group. 

The lead group eases back on the main road but there are gaps between groups that formed the peloton. 

However Sagan makes it back on. He was lucky the leaders didn't accelerate. 

53km remaining from 262km

Ivan Garcia Cortina (Bahrain-Merida) and Tom Devriendt (Wanty-Groupe Gobert) start the Paterberg. 

Kwiatkowski spins his way up the Paterberg, while others  struggle with the gradient.

Naesen has done well to get back up to the head of the race after his crash before the Muur. 

Next up is Hellingen number 13 of 18: the legendary Koppenberg.  

The peloton has split again on the exposed country roads over the top of the Patenberg. 

Who is your favourite to win the Tour of Flanders?

Here comes the Koppenberg. This going to hurt. 

The chasers can see the riders up front as they fight for the best line in the gutter. 

Meanwhile, we're hearing that Luke Rowe of Team Sky has been DQ'd from the race for riding on the footpath. 

Everyone is forced to go deep over the top of the cobbled climb. 

43km remaining from 262km

Lampaert is the rider chasing for the Belgian team, while Sagan just sits in and waits. He has one man left, Daniel Oss, as the leaders move their advantage out to 30 seconds.

And FDJ take over for Demare on the front of the peloton. Nibali is still there, Kristoff looked really good on the previous climbs, while Trentin is also in contention. 

There are maybe 30 riders left in the Sagan/Van Avermaet/Gilbert group.

38km remaining from 262km

Doing a 'Boonen' surge, only the strongest stay on his wheel. 

The three riders up front only lead by 30 seconds now.

Van Avermaet's surge did not crack any of the big names but we saw who is strong and who needed time to get back on. 

Terpstra tries to split the group but everyone is on his wheel. 

Stybar accelerates now. 

Stybar is joined by Roelandts plus Moscon.

But Stybar is not happy and eases up.  

Sagan is up front in the group of 20 or so strongest. He looks at his rivals as teammate Oss goes deep to set the pace and chase the three up front.  

The three are Dylan van Baarle (Team Sky), Sebastian Langeveld (EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale) and Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo). 

Sky, EF and Trek can stay on the wheels but Quick-Step need to help with the chase if they want to keep the race under control. 

Sky are trying to slow the pace for van Baarle, Kwaito is sat behind Oss, with Moscon behind the Pole.  

Also in the group of big names are Boasson Hagen, Nibali, Demare, Kristoff... 

Quick-Step have Gilbert, Lampaert, Terpstra and Stybar.

We can also see Styven for Trek, Va Aert, van Avermaet, Trentin, Valgren and Cort Nielsen.

28km remaining from 262km

The chasers seem to be waiting for the big finale on the  Kwaremont Paterberg double whammy. 

These are many of the big names in the chase group: Terpstra, Benoot, Gilbert, Van Avermaet, Sagan, Van Aert, Vanmarcke, Stuyven, Kristoff, Nibali, Démare, Naesen, Kwiatkowski, Trentin, Stybar, Colbrelli, Boasson-Hagen, Moscon, Roelandts, Oss, Haussler, Politt and Valgren Andersen.

As the cobbles end, the attacks come. 

Now Nibali goes solo. He tucks slow and gives it everything. 

Vanmarcke flats behind and calls his car. 

Terpstra joins Nibali, the two have a gap. 

Terpstra pushes on alone as Moscon and van Avermaet try to close the gap. 

Terpstra goes into TT mode just as he did lat E3 Harelbeke. 

25km remaining from 262km

Terpstra needs to get across before or during the Kwaremont and Paterberg. 

Terpstra needs to get across before or during the Kwaremont and Paterberg. 

The roads are dry now after the riders raced 150km on wet roads.

Behind BMC and Astana lead the chase. 

22km remaining from 262km

Dylan van Baarle (Team Sky), Sebastian Langeveld (EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale) and Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) lead by 40 seconds.

As the chasers turn right towards the Kwaremont, Sagan jumps on the kerb to move up. 

Does Sagan know that Rowe was DQ'd for riding on the footpath earlier?  

Sep Vanmarcke is back in the group of chasers. He could win this year. 

Cort Nielsen tries to go across from the chasers, as Terpstra closes the gap on the three leaders. 

19km remaining from 262km

Terpstra powers past them and tries to drop them over the top of the Kwaremont. 

The cobbles are rough and tough here. 

Only Pedersen is able to hold Terpstra's wheel. But he is suffering too. 

Behind Vanmarcke and Benoot surge. 

18km remaining from 262km

Benoot ups the pace again. 

Behind Kwaito and Lampaert crack and are distanced.

16km remaining from 262km

The others are spread down the road. 

After some hesitate, Sagan kicks hard and attacks. 

15km remaining from 262km

The Paterberg will be the final judge today.

The Paterberg is cobbled and steep. 

Pedersen refuses to give up but is struggling behind Terpstra.

Behind the 10 chasers start the Paterberg 30 second down on Terpstra.

Vanmarcke ups the pace, Sagan is on him. 

But they top the Paterberg 30 seconds down on Terpstra. 

13km remaining from 262km

12km remaining from 262km

Ten or so riders are behind Sagan. 

Sagan is 31 seconds down on Terpstra.

Sagan tucks low over his bike but is struggling to close the gap on Terpstra and Pedersen ahead of him.

9km remaining from 262km

Terpstra dances on the pedals as he fights the gradient on a bridge. 

Pedersen is 35 seconds behind him. Sagan is at 45 seconds.

Sagan eases up. He knew his solo chase was useless.  

Who can stop Terpstra now? Probably only a flat. 

The Sagan chase group has lost enthusiasm as some riders avoid doing turns.

But Van Aert ups the speed. The gap is down to 21 seconds now.

6km remaining from 262km

We stand corrected. The 21 second gap is between Terpstra and Pedersen. 

5km remaining from 262km

Terpstra stays tucked low on his bars. He's riding smoothly, using his track and TT skills.  

Terpstra is out front alone. The gaps are too small to allow the Quick-Step car up to him.

4km remaining from 262km

Terpstra is riding to victory at the 2018 Tour of Flanders.

2km remaining from 262km

1km remaining from 262km

Terpstra has just 500m to go. 

Terpstra eases up and celebrates as he wins the Tour of Flanders. 

Pedersen holds on for second place.

Gilbert beats Valgren for third place. 

The other riders sprint behind for the minor places. 

It is chaos at the finish as Quick-Step Floors celebrate their big win.

Terpstra and Quick-Step Floor played a perfect tactic by sending the Dutchman away, forcing the others to chase and compete against each other.

Terpstra is the first Dutch winner at the Ronde van Vlaanderen since Adrie van der Poel in 1986.

Terpstra is covered in dirt but is happy, hugging his friends and team staff.

Terpstra also hugs Quick-Step Floors team manager Patrick Lefevere. 

Terpstra is close to tears as he talks on Flemish about his win.  

It's a dream," he says. 

Terpstra was almost too happy and too tired to talk.

This is the top ten for the Tour of Flanders.

That shows the quality and the difficulty of today's race. 

Terpstra's win at the Tour of Flanders continues Quick-Step Floor's dominance this season.

It's important to highlight that Terpstra attacked alone after chasing after Vincenzo Nibali over the top of the Kruisberg. 

As Terpstra and Quick-Step celebrate, other riders are heading to the team buses. 

Sprza seems to show Taylor Phinney and Ryan Mullen enjoys some well-deserved Frits.

Meanwhile for Terpstra it's podium time. 

The podium is away from the finish, with a huge crowd gathering underneath to see Terpstra, Pedersen and Gilbert celebrate.

Quick-Step floors posted this image of Terpstra and Gilbert celebrating. 

As Terpstra celebrates on the podium, we have the first images of his win. 

Vincenzo Nibali's attack set up Terpstra's attack. 

Terpstra has only won 22 races during his career but has now on both the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.

No wonder Quick-Step team manager. This is his long list of Tour of Flanders winners (via @ammattipyoraily). 

To better understand how the race unfolded, click here to read our full race report and see our massive photo gallery.

The CN reporters are at the team buses speaking to the riders about their race.This is Peter Sagan at the Bora bus. He suggested he was happy with his performance. 

This was arguably the moment when Terpstra won the Tour of Flanders. He got across to the trio up front and then dropped them on the Kwaremont.

Terpstra was a deserved winner but Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) was the revelation of the race.

The time gaps in the top ten tell the story of the final kilometres.

Thanks for joining us for live coverage from the Tour of Flanders.

To read our full women's report and see the photo gallery, click here.

Keep checking Cyclingnews as we update the site with interviews and news from the race. 

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