Bosgracht

40:42 Antoine Girard brings up the rear at 2 minutes. One rider did not make it to the line.

40:29 Tomáš Černý crosses the line 28th, at 2:11.

40:10 Gilles Lambrecht crosses the line 27th, at 1:51.

38:42 Jarne Vanhoutte crosses the line 3rd, at 0:24.

38:28 Ondřej Veselý crosses the line 2nd, at 0:10.

38:19 Tuur De Clercq wins by 10 seconds.

37:50 The entrance to the off-camber is littered with abandoned bikes.

36:18 Antoine Girard punctures in the little bridge, changes bike and loses 19 seconds.

35:50 Rémi Rousseau punctures in the hairpin and pulls out. Nobody in the pit.

35:40 Get the deep furrow wrong and you are standing still — and it is happening more and more.

35:20 Brecht Geens has to let Felipe Casas go in the wet meadow.

34:50 They are nearly all taking the same side through the deep furrow now; the other line is finished.

34:30 Arne Maertens goes past Rien Naessens in the second sand pit.

34:20 There is 13 seconds on the clock behind the leaders.

34:10 The hairpin is getting looser with every lap.

34:00 The line through the sand strip is shifting; they are riding a metre off where they were a moment ago.

32:50 Petr Dvořák had been sitting on the wheel a while and goes past Brecht Geens in the wet meadow.

32:20 The ground in the deep furrow has been ridden rock hard.

32:00 Dry and dusty, and by the end you cannot tell who is who.

31:50 Clément Renaud dives past Senne Truyens in the slippery descent.

30:30 Lode De Clercq is too quick for Michiel Bruggeman in the mud strip and lies 16th now.

29:00 A day for racing on the pedals; there is nothing to slide away.

28:40 The line through the slippery descent has opened right up.

28:20 On a dry course there is little to win in the corners; it has to come from the legs.

27:13 Warre Coppens punctures in the steep side, changes bike and loses 9 seconds.

26:50 The sand in the little bridge is loose and deep — that is where the hour will be decided.

26:40 The pits are working flat out.

26:30 The course is hard underneath; this is a day for anyone who can keep the power on.

26:20 The deep furrow is drying out on the side the sun is on.

26:10 Dry and fast, and that makes it a long hour.

25:30 Half the field is running the off-camber by now.

25:10 Michiel Bruggeman takes Petr Dvořák back in the loose corner in the sand.

24:30 The front group is riding on sight, not on line; it all looks the same out there.

24:20 They are nearly all taking the same side through the hurdles now; the other line is finished.

24:00 Hardly anybody is getting off today, and that makes it an hour with no rest in it.

23:40 Rien Naessens takes the other line through the little bridge and comes out ahead of Arne Maertens.

23:10 Get the off-camber wrong and you are standing still — and it is happening more and more.

23:00 The lines are fixed on a course this dry; they are all riding the same rut.

22:40 The line through the steps is shifting; they are riding a metre off where they were a moment ago.

22:30 Hardly a bike change all day — there is nothing to wash off.

22:10 The entrance to the wet meadow is littered with abandoned bikes.

21:30 It is dusting up in the off-camber; anyone at the back is riding in a cloud.

21:20 The ground in the second sand pit has been ridden rock hard.

20:30 Sander Geens has to let Thibau Vranken go in the mud strip.

20:20 In the slippery descent Senne Truyens gains a place on Michiel Bruggeman.

20:10 Elias Nuyts had been sitting on the wheel a while and goes past Rémi Rousseau in the hairpin.

20:00 The steps is getting looser with every lap.

19:30 Ride the loose corner in the sand instead of running it and you take half a second out of the rest every lap.

19:20 The line through the mud strip has opened right up.

19:10 Rien Naessens goes past Brecht Geens in the second sand pit.

19:00 The sand in the slippery descent is loose and deep — that is where the hour will be decided.

18:50 The sequence of corners is drying out on the side the sun is on.

18:40 On a dry course there is little to win in the corners; it has to come from the legs.

18:20 Lode De Clercq goes past Gilles Lambrecht in the second sand pit.

18:10 Dust over the sand strip — there is no grip left in the corners.

17:40 Tuur De Clercq has opened a gap and is alone up there.

17:00 The deep furrow is tearing itself apart; next lap it will be brutal in there.

16:30 The front group is riding on sight, not on line; it all looks the same out there.

16:10 There is 11 seconds on the clock behind the leaders.

15:50 Felipe Casas is too quick for Aaron Beyens in the deep furrow and lies 21st now.

15:30 Brecht Geens takes Michiel Bruggeman back in the hairpin.

15:00 Hardly anybody is getting off today, and that makes it an hour with no rest in it.

14:30 It is dusting up in the hairpin; anyone at the back is riding in a cloud.

11:50 Brecht Geens dives past Rien Naessens in the sequence of corners.

11:30 A day for racing on the pedals; there is nothing to slide away.

11:20 Hardly a bike change all day — there is nothing to wash off.

11:00 In the steps Thibau Vranken gains a place on Felipe Casas.

10:40 Jarne Vanhoutte had been sitting on the wheel a while and goes past Karel Steyaert in the little bridge.

10:20 Warre Coppens takes the other line through the second sand pit and comes out ahead of Rémi Rousseau.

10:10 Rien Naessens has to let Jarne Vanhoutte go in the little bridge.

9:30 Tuur De Clercq is out on their own at the front.

9:10 The second sand pit is costing a few seconds more every lap.

7:20 The entrance to the mud strip is littered with abandoned bikes.

7:10 On a dry course there is little to win in the corners; it has to come from the legs.

6:50 The mud strip is drying out on the side the sun is on.

6:30 All five are hunting a different line through the sequence of corners; none of them is finding the good one.

5:40 The sand in the hairpin is loose and deep — that is where the hour will be decided.

4:30 They are nearly all taking the same side through the little bridge now; the other line is finished.

4:20 Hardly anybody is getting off today, and that makes it an hour with no rest in it.

4:10 Get the wet meadow wrong and you are standing still — and it is happening more and more.

4:05 Aaron Brouwers punctures in the loose corner in the sand, changes bike and loses 22 seconds.

3:10 Dry and fast, and that makes it a long hour.

3:00 The line through the slippery descent is shifting; they are riding a metre off where they were a moment ago.

2:30 The line through the slippery descent has opened right up.

2:20 Ride the off-camber instead of running it and you take half a second out of the rest every lap.

1:50 There are holes in the line through the sand strip that nobody is riding out any more.

1:40 Tyre pressure is half the race today, and nobody is saying so.

1:30 It is dusting up in the loose corner in the sand; anyone at the back is riding in a cloud.

1:00 The little climb at the back is getting looser with every lap.

0:20 Dry and dusty, and by the end you cannot tell who is who.

0:00 Bosgracht: dry course, 5 laps. Mostly mud and sand.