Mijnterril

41:31 Karel Steyaert brings up the rear at 3 minutes. Everybody finished.

41:04 Arne Vermeulen crosses the line 31st, at 2:45.

40:59 Tomáš Černý crosses the line 30th, at 2:39.

38:51 Clément Renaud crosses the line 3rd, at 0:31.

38:45 Tuur De Clercq crosses the line 2nd, at 0:25.

38:20 Jarne Vanhoutte wins by 25 seconds.

38:10 Every lap is slower than the last, and today that is no disgrace.

37:50 Thibau Geens had been sitting on the wheel a while and goes past Sander Geens in the finishing straight.

37:40 Rémi Rousseau dives past Álvaro Vidal in the sequence of corners.

37:20 The water is standing in the little climb at the back; dive in too fast and you are down.

37:00 It is getting harder through the start straight with every lap that goes by.

36:30 There is 22 seconds on the clock behind the leaders.

36:10 Rémi Rousseau is too quick for Vojtěch Veselý in the hairpin and lies 16th now.

35:20 The line through the wide section has closed up completely; it is going to be a run.

32:50 The gap to the first chaser is 18 seconds.

32:30 Jarne Vanhoutte is out on their own at the front.

32:20 The mechanics are standing ready with the pressure washer; a clean bike every lap.

31:40 In the sand strip Rémi Rousseau gains a place on Michiel Bruggeman.

31:30 Bikes are changing every lap — the little climb at the back eats equipment.

31:10 Arne Maertens has to let Rémi Rousseau go in the little bridge.

29:50 The derailleurs are packed with mud; shifting has become a gamble.

29:40 Sander Geens goes past Jelle Peeters in the hairpin.

28:30 They are nearly all taking the same side through the little bridge now; the other line is finished.

27:10 Gilles Lambrecht had been sitting on the wheel a while and goes past Arne Vermeulen in the hollow.

26:40 Get the steps wrong and you are standing still — and it is happening more and more.

26:20 Vojtěch Veselý takes Michiel Bruggeman back in the sequence of corners.

25:50 Jarne Vanhoutte has opened a gap and is alone up there.

24:40 Sander Geens takes the other line through the hollow and comes out ahead of Álvaro Vidal.

23:40 Half the field is running the hollow by now.

23:20 All five are hunting a different line through the long straight; none of them is finding the good one.

23:10 The wide section is drying out on the side the sun is on.

22:40 There are holes in the line through the sequence of corners that nobody is riding out any more.

22:30 Come off the line in the hairpin and you are ankle deep in it.

22:10 The pits are working flat out.

22:00 In the finishing straight Vojtěch Veselý gains a place on Radek Novák.

21:10 Sander Geens goes past Petr Dvořák in the little bridge.

20:40 Thibau Vanhee dives past Thibau Geens in the off-camber.

20:10 The brakes are dragging with mud; everyone is stopping too early in the start straight.

19:00 The line through the steep side has closed up completely; it is going to be a run.

18:30 The water is standing in the loose corner in the sand; dive in too fast and you are down.

18:20 Sander Geens has to let Thibau Vanhee go in the off-camber.

17:50 Thibau Vanhee is too quick for Warre Coppens in the hairpin and lies 16th now.

15:50 The mechanics are standing ready with the pressure washer; a clean bike every lap.

15:10 The sequence of corners is tearing itself apart; next lap it will be brutal in there.

14:30 There are 2 of them at the front.

14:20 Get the sequence of corners wrong and you are standing still — and it is happening more and more.

14:10 Every lap is slower than the last, and today that is no disgrace.

14:00 Warre Coppens has to let Aaron Brouwers go in the off-camber.

12:50 The line through the hurdles is shifting; they are riding a metre off where they were a moment ago.

12:01 Karel Steyaert goes down hard in the wide section, loses 88 seconds and rides on battered.

11:40 Antoine Girard had been sitting on the wheel a while and goes past Rémi Rousseau in the second sand pit.

11:30 Half the field is running the little climb at the back by now.

11:20 There is 10 seconds on the clock behind the leaders.

11:10 Lennert Decock takes Arne Vermeulen back in the wide section.

10:40 The gap to the first chaser is 10 seconds.

10:20 On a day like this it is not the strongest who wins, it is whoever runs least.

10:00 In the long straight Álvaro Vidal gains a place on Rémi Rousseau.

9:10 Brecht Geens takes the other line through the hurdles and comes out ahead of Rémi Rousseau.

8:20 Elias Nuyts is too quick for Karel Steyaert in the steep side and lies 8th now.

8:10 Rémi Rousseau dives past Karel Steyaert in the finishing straight.

7:40 The brakes are dragging with mud; everyone is stopping too early in the sequence of corners.

7:00 All five are hunting a different line through the hurdles; none of them is finding the good one.

6:50 Ride the little climb at the back instead of running it and you take half a second out of the rest every lap.

6:10 The rain of the last few days is still sitting in the little bridge.

5:50 They are riding on a third of their tyres; the rest is packed with earth.

5:40 The field is one mud bath; everybody is riding on feel.

4:30 The finishing straight is drying out on the side the sun is on.

4:10 Come off the line in the second sand pit and you are ankle deep in it.

3:00 They are nearly all taking the same side through the hairpin now; the other line is finished.

2:20 The line through the long straight has closed up completely; it is going to be a run.

1:50 The water is standing in the sequence of corners; dive in too fast and you are down.

1:30 The line through the hairpin has opened right up.

1:10 There is a line through the finishing straight that gets narrower lap after lap.

1:00 The long straight is getting deeper with every lap.

0:20 The leader's jersey stopped being recognisable a long time ago.

0:00 Mijnterril: wet course, 5 laps. Mostly technique and climbing.