Het Kanaal

47:49 Lukáš Svoboda brings up the rear at 2 minutes. One rider did not make it to the line.

47:43 Simon Truyens crosses the line 28th, at 1:39.

47:24 Rémi Moreau crosses the line 27th, at 1:20.

46:13 Iván Miralles crosses the line 3rd, at 0:09.

46:05 Vic Dierckx crosses the line 2nd, at 0:01.

46:04 Rien Debruyne wins the sprint.

45:40 There is 9 seconds on the clock behind the leaders.

45:30 Jelle Verbeke takes Jasper Desmet back in the mud strip.

45:20 Half the field is running the hairpin by now.

45:00 Arne Demeyer dives past Lode Bruggeman in the hairpin.

43:40 All five are hunting a different line through the slippery descent; none of them is finding the good one.

43:30 In the deep furrow Matthias Vandenberghe gains a place on Gilles Peeters.

43:10 The entrance to the hairpin is littered with abandoned bikes.

42:40 The lines are fixed on a course this dry; they are all riding the same rut.

42:10 Matthias Vandenberghe takes the other line through the sequence of corners and comes out ahead of Simon Vermeulen.

41:40 On a dry course there is little to win in the corners; it has to come from the legs.

40:10 Pau Casas takes Pieter Willems back in the long straight.

40:00 The sand pit is getting looser with every lap.

39:50 The course is hard underneath; this is a day for anyone who can keep the power on.

39:10 Vojtěch Beneš is too quick for Sil Casteels in the hairpin and lies 28th now.

37:30 It is dusting up in the mud strip; anyone at the back is riding in a cloud.

37:20 Pau Casas goes past Simon Vermeulen in the little bridge.

37:10 Jelle Casteels had been sitting on the wheel a while and goes past Simon Truyens in the mud strip.

37:00 Rien Debruyne has opened a gap and is alone up there.

36:00 Get the second sand pit wrong and you are standing still — and it is happening more and more.

35:50 Dry and fast, and that makes it a long hour.

35:30 The pits are working flat out.

35:00 Iván Miralles dives past Simon Vermeulen in the little bridge.

34:58 Sil Casteels punctures in the mud strip and pulls out. No spare bike.

34:50 The gap to the first chaser is 8 seconds.

34:40 A day for racing on the pedals; there is nothing to slide away.

34:20 Nand Demeyer has to let Iván Miralles go in the little bridge.

33:50 The long straight is drying out on the side the sun is on.

32:10 The sand in the long straight is loose and deep — that is where the hour will be decided.

31:50 In the sequence of corners Iván Miralles gains a place on Gilles Peeters.

31:40 Tyre pressure is half the race today, and nobody is saying so.

31:20 Matthias Vandenberghe takes the other line through the start straight and comes out ahead of Quentin Marchand.

31:10 The ground in the sequence of corners has been ridden rock hard.

30:40 Hardly a bike change all day — there is nothing to wash off.

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

30:00 Rien Debruyne is out on their own at the front.

29:53 Rien Debruyne goes past Vic Dierckx and takes the lead.

29:30 The line through the wet meadow has opened right up.

29:00 Half the field is running the sequence of corners by now.

28:10 The hurdles is costing a few seconds more every lap.

27:50 There is 6 seconds on the clock behind the leaders.

27:40 Xander Cuypers goes past Jasper Desmet in the start straight.

27:20 Jasper Vanwalleghem is too quick for Jasper Desmet in the little bridge and lies 17th now.

27:10 Dry and fast, and that makes it a long hour.

26:30 There are 2 of them at the front.

25:30 Nand Demeyer dives past Pau Casas in the off-camber.

24:50 Pau Casas takes Gilles Peeters back in the mud strip.

24:20 All five are hunting a different line through the little bridge; none of them is finding the good one.

23:30 The long straight is getting looser with every lap.

23:20 Gonzalo Vidal goes past Jasper Desmet in the sequence of corners.

23:00 Jasper Vanwalleghem had been sitting on the wheel a while and goes past Sil Coppens in the start straight.

22:20 A day for racing on the pedals; there is nothing to slide away.

22:10 Dust over the sequence of corners — there is no grip left in the corners.

21:40 The course is hard underneath; this is a day for anyone who can keep the power on.

21:30 The sand strip is drying out on the side the sun is on.

21:20 Simon Vermeulen is too quick for Karel Callens in the little bridge and lies 5th now.

21:00 They are nearly all taking the same side through the off-camber now; the other line is finished.

20:50 Matthias Vandenberghe takes the other line through the sequence of corners and comes out ahead of Jasper Desmet.

20:40 Simon Vermeulen goes past Nand Demeyer in the wet meadow.

19:30 The pits are working flat out.

19:20 Dry and dusty, and by the end you cannot tell who is who.

19:02 Xander Cuypers punctures in the sand strip, changes bike and loses 12 seconds.

19:00 The front group is riding on sight, not on line; it all looks the same out there.

18:50 On a dry course there is little to win in the corners; it has to come from the legs.

18:40 With 2 up front, and Vic Dierckx on the front of it.

18:10 The hairpin is costing a few seconds more every lap.

17:30 There are 2 of them at the front.

17:10 In the off-camber Arne Demeyer gains a place on Quentin Marchand.

17:00 Hardly anybody is getting off today, and that makes it an hour with no rest in it.

16:50 Gilles Peeters takes Simon Vermeulen back in the wide section.

16:10 Arne Demeyer dives past Lode Bruggeman in the sequence of corners.

15:50 Quentin Marchand is too quick for Théo Perrin in the hairpin and lies 10th now.

15:40 In the slippery descent Michal Kučera gains a place on Jelle Verbeke.

15:30 A front group of 2, and they are watching each other.

14:50 Ride the sequence of corners instead of running it and you take half a second out of the rest every lap.

14:50 Vic Dierckx goes past Nand Demeyer and takes the lead.

14:20 Half the field is running the second sand pit by now.

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

13:40 Dry and fast, and that makes it a long hour.

13:10 In the little bridge Quentin Marchand gains a place on Pieter Lambrecht.

12:50 Rien Debruyne moves up to 2nd at Nand Demeyer's expense.

12:30 In the wide section Matthias Vandenberghe gains a place on Rémi Moreau.

12:10 Théo Perrin goes past Pieter Lambrecht in the deep furrow.

12:00 Xander Cuypers takes the other line through the off-camber and comes out ahead of Sil Casteels.

11:40 There is 4 seconds on the clock behind the leaders.

11:20 Michal Kučera had been sitting on the wheel a while and goes past Rémi Moreau in the wet meadow.

11:00 Jasper Desmet has to let Iván Miralles go in the hairpin.

10:30 Rien Debruyne dives past Simon Vermeulen in the mud strip.

9:50 The course is hard underneath; this is a day for anyone who can keep the power on.

9:10 The gap to the first chaser is 8 seconds.

8:50 The little bridge is drying out on the side the sun is on.

8:30 Pau Casas takes Pieter Lambrecht back in the mud strip.

8:10 The line through the sand pit has opened right up.

8:00 Pau Casas is too quick for Arne Demeyer in the hairpin and lies 10th now.

7:50 They are nearly all taking the same side through the mud strip now; the other line is finished.

7:23 Nand Demeyer takes the lead.

7:20 There are holes in the line through the deep furrow that nobody is riding out any more.

6:50 All five are hunting a different line through the start straight; none of them is finding the good one.

6:20 The line through the pit is shifting; they are riding a metre off where they were a moment ago.

6:10 The lines are fixed on a course this dry; they are all riding the same rut.

5:50 Dry and dusty, and by the end you cannot tell who is who.

5:30 The pits are working flat out.

3:40 Dust over the finishing straight — there is no grip left in the corners.

3:10 A day for racing on the pedals; there is nothing to slide away.

2:40 The slippery descent is getting looser with every lap.

1:40 The entrance to the wide section is littered with abandoned bikes.

1:30 The long straight is costing a few seconds more every lap.

1:10 The sand in the sequence of corners is loose and deep — that is where the hour will be decided.

0:30 Ride the loose corner in the sand instead of running it and you take half a second out of the rest every lap.

0:00 Het Kanaal: dry course, 6 laps. Mostly technique and mud.