Steenweg

52:10 Sergi Bosch brings up the rear at 3 minutes. One rider did not make it to the line.

51:59 Yann Perrin crosses the line 32nd, at 2:29.

51:52 Thibau Dierckx crosses the line 31st, at 2:23.

49:55 Lars Demeyer crosses the line 3rd, at 0:25.

49:52 Simon Maes crosses the line 2nd, at 0:23.

49:29 Florian Barbier wins by 23 seconds.

48:40 Sil Coene goes past Pau Solana in the steep side.

48:10 Florian Barbier has opened a gap and is alone up there.

47:10 Get the hairpin wrong and you are standing still — and it is happening more and more.

46:50 Dry and dusty, and by the end you cannot tell who is who.

46:30 The ground in the hollow has been ridden rock hard.

46:10 Jakub Svoboda takes the other line through the mud strip and comes out ahead of Siebe Deschepper.

45:50 The front group is riding on sight, not on line; it all looks the same out there.

45:40 Toon Cuypers dives past Yann Barbier in the off-camber.

45:20 The steep side is costing a few seconds more every lap.

44:50 Corentin Renaud is too quick for Tuur Verhoeven in the slippery descent and lies 6th now.

44:30 Hardly anybody is getting off today, and that makes it an hour with no rest in it.

43:50 In the mud strip Matěj Beneš gains a place on Sil Willems.

43:40 The entrance to the steep side is littered with abandoned bikes.

42:40 There are holes in the line through the little bridge that nobody is riding out any more.

42:20 The sequence of corners is getting looser with every lap.

42:10 Tyre pressure is half the race today, and nobody is saying so.

41:50 Nacho Iglesias takes the other line through the little bridge and comes out ahead of Aaron Segers.

41:40 Nacho Iglesias has to let Maxime Moreau go in the steep side.

41:20 The line through the sequence of corners has opened right up.

40:50 Dust over the off-camber — there is no grip left in the corners.

40:40 There is 10 seconds on the clock behind the leaders.

40:10 The sequence of corners is drying out on the side the sun is on.

39:30 A day for racing on the pedals; there is nothing to slide away.

39:20 The line through the wet meadow is shifting; they are riding a metre off where they were a moment ago.

39:00 Florian Barbier has opened a gap and is alone up there.

38:40 The course is hard underneath; this is a day for anyone who can keep the power on.

38:30 Dry and fast, and that makes it a long hour.

38:20 Dry and dusty, and by the end you cannot tell who is who.

38:00 On a dry course there is little to win in the corners; it has to come from the legs.

37:10 All five are hunting a different line through the deep furrow; none of them is finding the good one.

36:40 It is getting harder through the sequence of corners with every lap that goes by.

36:30 The hairpin is tearing itself apart; next lap it will be brutal in there.

36:00 Sil Willems dives past Thibau Dierckx in the hollow.

35:50 It is dusting up in the steps; anyone at the back is riding in a cloud.

34:50 The gap to the first chaser is 9 seconds.

34:20 Up front Lars Demeyer goes past Vic Vanacker — 3rd now.

33:20 Hardly anybody is getting off today, and that makes it an hour with no rest in it.

32:40 Matěj Svoboda dives past Gonzalo Miralles in the finishing straight.

32:10 In the little climb at the back Corentin Renaud gains a place on Nacho Iglesias.

31:40 Florian Barbier is out on their own at the front.

31:10 The lines are fixed on a course this dry; they are all riding the same rut.

30:00 Hardly a bike change all day — there is nothing to wash off.

29:00 Tuur Vanhee takes Nacho Iglesias back in the off-camber.

28:30 Joppe Wauters takes the other line through the wet meadow and comes out ahead of Siebe Deschepper.

28:20 The line through the little climb at the back has opened right up.

27:50 Dust over the steep side — there is no grip left in the corners.

26:50 There is 5 seconds on the clock behind the leaders.

26:00 Corentin Renaud has to let Joppe Wauters go in the steps.

25:50 Joppe Wauters dives past Maxime Moreau in the deep furrow.

25:05 Florian Barbier goes past Simon Maes and takes the lead.

25:00 Maxime Rousseau is too quick for Matěj Svoboda in the steps and lies 21st now.

24:40 The course is hard underneath; this is a day for anyone who can keep the power on.

22:30 Mauro Vranken had been sitting on the wheel a while and goes past Lennert Verhoeven in the sequence of corners.

22:20 The line through the deep furrow is shifting; they are riding a metre off where they were a moment ago.

21:40 A front group of 3, and they are watching each other.

21:30 They are nearly all taking the same side through the little climb at the back now; the other line is finished.

21:10 Nacho Iglesias had been sitting on the wheel a while and goes past Corentin Renaud in the deep furrow.

20:50 Maxime Rousseau takes the other line through the finishing straight and comes out ahead of Julien Perrin.

20:40 Nacho Iglesias had been sitting on the wheel a while and goes past Maxime Moreau in the off-camber.

20:20 Maxime Rousseau goes past Thibau Dierckx in the hollow.

19:10 There are 2 of them at the front.

19:00 Aaron Segers goes past Kasper Vandevelde in the little bridge.

18:40 Aaron Segers takes Matěj Beneš back in the slippery descent.

18:30 The steps is costing a few seconds more every lap.

18:20 All five are hunting a different line through the hollow; none of them is finding the good one.

17:40 There are holes in the line through the off-camber that nobody is riding out any more.

16:40 The steep side is tearing itself apart; next lap it will be brutal in there.

14:00 A day for racing on the pedals; there is nothing to slide away.

13:30 With 2 up front, and Simon Maes on the front of it.

13:00 Sergi Bosch has to let Jelle Bruggeman go in the hairpin.

12:50 Toon Cuypers dives past Sil Willems in the steep side.

12:40 Kasper Vandevelde had been sitting on the wheel a while and goes past Sergi Bosch in the off-camber.

12:37 Pau Solana punctures in the off-camber, changes bike and loses 19 seconds.

12:10 The front group is riding on sight, not on line; it all looks the same out there.

12:00 Aaron Segers is too quick for Matěj Svoboda in the steep side and lies 20th now.

11:50 Ride the long straight instead of running it and you take half a second out of the rest every lap.

11:20 The gap to the first chaser is 6 seconds.

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

10:00 In the steps Jakub Svoboda gains a place on Joppe Wauters.

9:10 It is getting harder through the slippery descent with every lap that goes by.

8:50 Matěj Beneš goes past Matěj Svoboda in the little climb at the back.

8:00 The ground in the hollow has been ridden rock hard.

7:30 They are nearly all taking the same side through the hollow now; the other line is finished.

7:20 A front group of 3, and they are watching each other.

7:10 Get the little bridge wrong and you are standing still — and it is happening more and more.

6:50 The slippery descent is drying out on the side the sun is on.

6:30 It is dusting up in the deep furrow; anyone at the back is riding in a cloud.

6:00 The mud strip is costing a few seconds more every lap.

5:40 The line through the hollow is shifting; they are riding a metre off where they were a moment ago.

5:00 A day for racing on the pedals; there is nothing to slide away.

4:40 With 5 up front, and Simon Maes on the front of it.

4:30 Hardly a bike change all day — there is nothing to wash off.

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

4:13 Florian Bernard punctures in the steep side and pulls out. Nobody in the pit.

3:30 The ground in the little climb at the back has been ridden rock hard.

3:00 The front group is riding on sight, not on line; it all looks the same out there.

2:30 The little climb at the back is getting looser with every lap.

2:20 On a dry course there is little to win in the corners; it has to come from the legs.

2:10 Half the field is running the hollow by now.

1:40 The gap to the first chaser is 4 seconds.

1:00 The pits are working flat out.

0:40 Nothing has split at the front yet; Simon Maes is leading it.

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

0:10 Simon Maes had been sitting on the wheel a while and goes past Florian Barbier in the sequence of corners.

0:05 Simon Maes goes past Florian Barbier and takes the lead.

0:00 Steenweg: dry course, 6 laps. Mostly climbing and technique.