Het Kanaal

39:49 Sergi Miralles brings up the rear at 71 seconds. 4 riders did not make it to the line.

39:38 Rien Demeyer crosses the line 25th, at 1:00.

39:36 Théo Girard crosses the line 24th, at 0:58.

38:55 Emiel Decock crosses the line 3rd, at 0:17.

38:49 Jonas De Clercq crosses the line 2nd, at 0:12.

38:38 Lode Dierckx wins by 12 seconds.

38:38 Lode Dierckx goes past Siebe Peeters and takes the lead.

38:30 There is 7 seconds on the clock behind the leaders.

37:40 Hardly a bike change all day — there is nothing to wash off.

37:30 The ground in the wet meadow has been ridden rock hard.

37:10 Dust over the long straight — there is no grip left in the corners.

36:10 The sand in the mud strip is loose and deep — that is where the hour will be decided.

35:50 The hurdles is getting looser with every lap.

35:08 Radek Svoboda punctures in the pit and pulls out. No spare bike.

34:40 Siebe Coppens takes the other line through the slippery descent and comes out ahead of Clément Barbier.

34:30 The entrance to the off-camber is littered with abandoned bikes.

34:24 Siebe Peeters punctures in the off-camber and pulls out. No spare bike.

34:20 The line through the wet meadow has opened right up.

34:10 Siebe Coppens takes Rien Vercammen back in the sequence of corners.

33:30 The front group is riding on sight, not on line; it all looks the same out there.

32:00 The little bridge is tearing itself apart; next lap it will be brutal in there.

31:40 Rien Demeyer takes the other line through the wet meadow and comes out ahead of Sergi Miralles.

30:40 Emiel Decock moves up to 3rd at Álvaro Ferrer's expense.

30:10 Jarne Willems goes past Clément Perrin in the second sand pit.

29:10 Hardly anybody is getting off today, and that makes it an hour with no rest in it.

28:30 Niels Callens has to let Rien Vercammen go in the sequence of corners.

27:50 Half the field is running the sequence of corners by now.

27:30 The gap to the first chaser is 18 seconds.

26:50 Rien Vercammen takes Niels Vanacker back in the off-camber.

26:41 Álvaro Ferrer punctures in the start straight and pulls out. Nobody in the pit.

26:30 Lars De Clercq has to let Radek Svoboda go in the hairpin.

26:10 The line through the finishing straight is shifting; they are riding a metre off where they were a moment ago.

26:00 The pits are working flat out.

25:30 Thibau Nuyts dives past Gonzalo Solana in the deep furrow.

25:00 Iván Vidal has to let Emiel Decock go in the pit.

24:40 Jonas De Clercq had been sitting on the wheel a while and goes past Gonzalo Solana in the long straight.

24:10 There is 19 seconds on the clock behind the leaders.

24:00 Dry and dusty, and by the end you cannot tell who is who.

22:20 The ground in the off-camber has been ridden rock hard.

22:10 Ride the slippery descent instead of running it and you take half a second out of the rest every lap.

22:00 It is dusting up in the hurdles; anyone at the back is riding in a cloud.

21:00 Iván Vidal has to let Michal Dvořák go in the off-camber.

20:50 Álvaro Ferrer is too quick for Iván Vidal in the long straight and lies 4th now.

20:20 Siebe Peeters is out on their own at the front.

19:12 Ward Ceulemans punctures in the long straight, changes bike and loses 15 seconds.

18:52 Maarten Coene punctures in the loose corner in the sand and pulls out. Nobody in the pit.

17:40 It is getting harder through the little bridge with every lap that goes by.

17:30 Dry and fast, and that makes it a long hour.

17:20 In the long straight Niels Callens gains a place on Jarne Willems.

16:20 Lode Dierckx takes the other line through the slippery descent and comes out ahead of Clément Perrin.

15:40 The sand in the little bridge is loose and deep — that is where the hour will be decided.

14:10 The hairpin is getting looser with every lap.

13:20 Siebe Peeters has opened a gap and is alone up there.

12:50 Maarten Coene dives past Jonas De Clercq in the off-camber.

12:30 Clément Barbier goes past Bavo Coppens in the finishing straight.

11:28 Joran Naessens punctures in the finishing straight, changes bike and loses 8 seconds.

10:50 Niels Callens takes Emiel Callens back in the off-camber.

10:00 Álvaro Ferrer had been sitting on the wheel a while and goes past Siebe Coppens in the mud strip.

9:00 Hardly anybody is getting off today, and that makes it an hour with no rest in it.

8:20 The hairpin is tearing itself apart; next lap it will be brutal in there.

8:00 Half the field is running the little bridge by now.

7:50 Dry and dusty, and by the end you cannot tell who is who.

7:26 Siebe Peeters takes the lead.

6:10 The course is hard underneath; this is a day for anyone who can keep the power on.

6:00 The pits are working flat out.

4:50 The front group is riding on sight, not on line; it all looks the same out there.

4:30 The little bridge is drying out on the side the sun is on.

4:20 The line through the sand strip has opened right up.

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

3:50 Tyre pressure is half the race today, and nobody is saying so.

3:00 Dry and fast, and that makes it a long hour.

2:50 It is getting harder through the wet meadow with every lap that goes by.

2:40 They are nearly all taking the same side through the wide section now; the other line is finished.

2:00 It is dusting up in the slippery descent; anyone at the back is riding in a cloud.

1:30 On a dry course there is little to win in the corners; it has to come from the legs.

1:20 The ground in the hairpin has been ridden rock hard.

0:40 The lines are fixed on a course this dry; they are all riding the same rut.

0:30 The field is still all together at the front.

0:20 A day for racing on the pedals; there is nothing to slide away.

0:00 Het Kanaal: dry course, 5 laps. Mostly technique and mud.