A lot of the finishers of the Tour of Flanders had been in a spot past phrases as they drifted via the blended zone in Oudenaarde. In lots of circumstances, the haunted faces and chattering tooth instructed their very own story. If this wasn’t fairly hell, then it could do till the formal appointment with the infernal horrors at Paris-Roubaix subsequent weekend.
Magnus Sheffield withstood the rigours of a tumultuous day higher than most, reaching the end in sixth place. On a day of relentless attacking and driving rain, Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) was in a league totally of his personal, however Sheffield got here dwelling with the very best of the remaining, contesting the dash for the rostrum locations, a minute behind the unassailable world champion.
The group of favourites splintered and reformed repeatedly within the second half of the race after Visma-Lease A Bike and Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) had tried to check Van der Poel from distance. Sheffield and his Ineos Grenadiers teammates discovered themselves chasing the race at numerous factors, however they had been more and more to the fore after Van der Poel pressed clear alone on the Koppenberg.
After selecting his manner via the carnage, Sheffield doughtily emerged among the many strongest of the pursuers over the ultimate ascent of the Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg to attain one of many best outcomes of his younger profession. If victory at Brabantse Pijl two years in the past indicated the American’s potential as a one-day rider, this was an indication of his potential to face up to Monument distance.
“I felt like I used to be simply driving via teams,” Sheffield mentioned when he stopped within the blended zone. “I used to be in respectable place each time we hit the Kwaremont, however I believe it was the Koppenberg the place you noticed all of us kind of needed to dismount and run or stroll up the cobbles. There have been a number of crashes too, however Ben [Turner] was in a position to chase in addition to Josh [Tarling] and we had been at the least in a position to attempt to struggle for a podium. Within the dash, I didn’t have the legs, however I actually must thank the crew for by no means giving up and placing me in the very best place attainable.”
The Koppenberg offered essentially the most indelible picture of this race, not just for Van der Poel’s successful assault, however for the chaos on the hillside behind him. A gentle deluge all through the afternoon had made the cobbles of the infamous climb extra treacherous nonetheless, and most riders chasing Van der Poel had been compelled to dismount and stroll. After reaching the highest on foot, every man needed to reshape his race as greatest he may.
“There’s the Koppenberg cyclocross race, and I believe that’s one of the simplest ways you possibly can describe it,” Sheffield mentioned. “Truthfully, with highway footwear they’re not meant to run up cobbles, and we had been attempting to stand up as rapidly as attainable. As quickly as I noticed guys remount, I attempted to do the identical. I believe at that time, Mathieu had already attacked, so we had been simply attempting to chase as greatest as attainable.”
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Monuments
Magnus Sheffield on the cobbles of Tour of Flanders 2024 (Picture credit score: Getty Photos)
It’s simple to neglect that Sheffield continues to be solely 21 years of age, however he has lined appreciable floor in his seasons at WorldTour stage up to now. Though his 2023 marketing campaign was interrupted by a heavy and traumatic crash on the Tour de Suisse, he completed the 12 months with sturdy showings on the Tour of Britain and the CRO Race. After a subdued cobbled Classics marketing campaign so far, Sheffield supplied a reminder of his potential on this terrain on the Ronde.
“Flanders is such a historic race. There’s by no means been an American to win, however I instructed myself a high ten was attainable, so I believe we might be actually glad that we had been combating for the rostrum,” he mentioned. “That is solely my third Flanders, however annually I’ve come again higher and extra skilled. For my profession, this was an excellent exhibiting. I can study from this and hopefully I can struggle for the win at some point.”
On Sunday, after all, the race winner was working on a special airplane to everyone else, and in latest seasons, the most important one-day races have been the protect of a restricted cadre of riders and groups. 9 of the twelve Monuments since Sheffield turned skilled have been gained by Van der Poel, Tadej Pogačar or Remco Evenepoel.
“I grew up racing cyclocross, so Van der Poel was an enormous idol, however I do must remind myself that everybody is human on the finish of the day,” Sheffield mentioned. “Okay, there are the fellows you name aliens, like Van der Poel, Van Aert, Jonas [Vingegaard] and Pogacar. I believe Van der Poel is an unimaginable rider, however on the finish of the day, he has two legs and he’s no totally different than the remainder of us.”
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