Côte de la Meuse

49:57 Wannes Decock brings up the rear at 2 minutes. One rider did not make it to the line.

49:45 Sil Casteels crosses the line 28th, at 2:03.

49:38 Théo Marchand crosses the line 27th, at 1:56.

47:56 Aaron Claes crosses the line 3rd, at 0:15.

47:48 Mathijs Vermote crosses the line 2nd, at 0:06.

47:42 Felipe Vidal wins by 6 seconds.

47:10 A day for racing on the pedals; there is nothing to slide away.

46:30 Petr Kučera goes past Filip Beneš in the hollow.

46:00 The course is hard underneath; this is a day for anyone who can keep the power on.

45:30 Pieter Lambrecht had been sitting on the wheel a while and goes past Simon Truyens in the little climb at the back.

45:00 Petr Kučera is too quick for Joppe Cuypers in the hollow and lies 18th now.

44:40 Joppe Cuypers is too quick for Niels Smets in the hollow and lies 18th now.

44:30 The front group is riding on sight, not on line; it all looks the same out there.

44:20 It is getting harder through the little climb at the back with every lap that goes by.

43:30 The gap to the first chaser is 12 seconds.

43:00 In the steep side Corentin Fontaine gains a place on Rien Debruyne.

42:30 Dry and dusty, and by the end you cannot tell who is who.

42:00 There is 11 seconds on the clock behind the leaders.

41:25 Felipe Vidal goes past Mathijs Vermote and takes the lead.

41:00 The pits are working flat out.

40:30 It is dusting up in the little climb at the back; anyone at the back is riding in a cloud.

39:50 Gonzalo Vidal has to let Jasper Desmet go in the steep side.

38:50 Jelle Casteels dives past Filip Beneš in the hollow.

38:40 There are holes in the line through the long straight that nobody is riding out any more.

38:10 Dry and fast, and that makes it a long hour.

36:20 The steep side is drying out on the side the sun is on.

36:00 With 2 up front, and Mathijs Vermote on the front of it.

33:50 They are nearly all taking the same side through the mud strip now; the other line is finished.

33:40 Jasper Vanwalleghem takes Petr Kučera back in the long straight.

33:10 On a dry course there is little to win in the corners; it has to come from the legs.

31:40 Maarten Janssens goes past Antoine Barbier in the steps.

31:30 The ground in the pit has been ridden rock hard.

31:15 Mathijs Vermote goes past Jakub Veselý and takes the lead.

31:10 The slippery descent is tearing itself apart; next lap it will be brutal in there.

31:00 Maarten Janssens takes the other line through the wide section and comes out ahead of Simon Truyens.

30:30 Ride the little climb at the back instead of running it and you take half a second out of the rest every lap.

30:00 The course is hard underneath; this is a day for anyone who can keep the power on.

29:40 Hardly a bike change all day — there is nothing to wash off.

29:10 The line through the hollow is shifting; they are riding a metre off where they were a moment ago.

29:00 Pau Casas takes Elias Maes back in the sequence of corners.

28:30 Nand Demeyer goes past Pieter Lambrecht in the little bridge.

28:10 In the little climb at the back Aaron Claes gains a place on Simon Truyens.

27:50 The pits are working flat out.

27:20 Simon Truyens has to let Gilles Vercammen go in the hairpin.

27:12 Jakub Veselý punctures in the wide section and pulls out. No spare bike.

27:00 Corentin Fontaine is too quick for Elias Maes in the hairpin and lies 10th now.

26:40 Tyre pressure is half the race today, and nobody is saying so.

26:00 The line through the little bridge has opened right up.

25:40 Aaron Claes dives past Filip Beneš in the hairpin.

25:30 The sand in the hollow is loose and deep — that is where the hour will be decided.

25:00 Filip Beneš is too quick for Pieter Lambrecht in the little climb at the back and lies 10th now.

24:40 All five are hunting a different line through the hollow; none of them is finding the good one.

24:30 Gilles Vercammen dives past Elias Maes in the steps.

24:10 In the finishing straight Wout Deschepper gains a place on Pieter Lambrecht.

23:50 The gap to the first chaser is 16 seconds.

23:40 Dust over the steep side — there is no grip left in the corners.

23:30 Jakub Veselý is out on their own at the front.

22:20 Get the sequence of corners wrong and you are standing still — and it is happening more and more.

21:30 Ride the little climb at the back instead of running it and you take half a second out of the rest every lap.

21:20 A day for racing on the pedals; there is nothing to slide away.

20:40 Jakub Veselý has opened a gap and is alone up there.

19:20 Corentin Fontaine has to let Felipe Vidal go in the start straight.

19:10 Dry and dusty, and by the end you cannot tell who is who.

19:00 The line through the little climb at the back is shifting; they are riding a metre off where they were a moment ago.

17:40 Jasper Vanwalleghem takes the other line through the wide section and comes out ahead of Gonzalo Vidal.

17:10 Simon Truyens had been sitting on the wheel a while and goes past Niels Smets in the little climb at the back.

16:00 It is dusting up in the steep side; anyone at the back is riding in a cloud.

15:10 The steep side is drying out on the side the sun is on.

15:00 On a dry course there is little to win in the corners; it has to come from the legs.

14:20 Gilles Vercammen had been sitting on the wheel a while and goes past Antoine Barbier in the wet meadow.

14:10 Hardly a bike change all day — there is nothing to wash off.

14:00 Mathijs Vermote moves up to 2nd at Rien Debruyne's expense.

13:40 Lukáš Svoboda takes the other line through the little bridge and comes out ahead of Filip Beneš.

13:30 The lines are fixed on a course this dry; they are all riding the same rut.

13:10 Sil Casteels goes past Petr Veselý in the little bridge.

12:30 The gap to the first chaser is 8 seconds.

12:00 In the little bridge Mathijs Vermote gains a place on Antoine Barbier.

11:40 The little climb at the back is getting looser with every lap.

10:30 Hardly anybody is getting off today, and that makes it an hour with no rest in it.

10:20 The pits are working flat out.

10:00 Mathijs Vermote dives past Filip Beneš in the wide section.

9:50 They are nearly all taking the same side through the long straight now; the other line is finished.

9:40 Wout Deschepper has to let Mathijs Vermote go in the wet meadow.

9:20 A day for racing on the pedals; there is nothing to slide away.

8:50 Mathijs Vermote takes Niels Smets back in the steep side.

8:10 The front group is riding on sight, not on line; it all looks the same out there.

7:55 Jakub Veselý goes past Rien Debruyne and takes the lead.

7:30 Dry and dusty, and by the end you cannot tell who is who.

7:10 There are holes in the line through the start straight that nobody is riding out any more.

7:00 The off-camber is drying out on the side the sun is on.

6:50 With 3 up front, and Rien Debruyne on the front of it.

6:00 A front group of 3, and they are watching each other.

5:30 Tyre pressure is half the race today, and nobody is saying so.

5:20 The line through the hollow has opened right up.

5:10 On a dry course there is little to win in the corners; it has to come from the legs.

4:20 The lines are fixed on a course this dry; they are all riding the same rut.

3:30 Hardly a bike change all day — there is nothing to wash off.

3:20 Dry and fast, and that makes it a long hour.

3:00 Dust over the start straight — there is no grip left in the corners.

2:40 The ground in the little climb at the back has been ridden rock hard.

2:30 Ride the slippery descent instead of running it and you take half a second out of the rest every lap.

2:00 Half the field is running the steep side by now.

1:30 The entrance to the start straight is littered with abandoned bikes.

1:20 The steps is costing a few seconds more every lap.

1:10 There is 5 seconds on the clock behind the leaders.

0:30 Get the hollow wrong and you are standing still — and it is happening more and more.

0:05 Rien Debruyne goes past Felipe Vidal and takes the lead.

0:00 Côte de la Meuse: dry course, 6 laps. Mostly climbing and power.