Steenweg

35:20 Puck Vermote brings up the rear at 2 minutes. Everybody finished.

35:08 Lise Maes crosses the line 34th, at 2:05.

34:58 Merel Cuypers crosses the line 33rd, at 1:55.

33:24 Febe Tanghe crosses the line 3rd, at 0:22.

33:10 Elke Claes crosses the line 2nd, at 0:07.

33:03 Anke Herteleer wins by 7 seconds.

33:00 Ride the little bridge instead of running it and you take half a second out of the rest every lap.

32:50 Anke Herteleer has opened a gap and is alone up there.

32:30 Come off the line in the mud strip and you are ankle deep in it.

32:10 On a day like this it is not the strongest who wins, it is whoever runs least.

31:50 Roos Hermans dives past Lore Deschepper in the sequence of corners.

31:40 Bikes are changing every lap — the off-camber eats equipment.

30:50 The water is standing in the steep side; dive in too fast and you are down.

30:20 The rain of the last few days is still sitting in the steep side.

29:30 The line through the steep side is shifting; they are riding a metre off where they were a moment ago.

29:00 Febe Tanghe slides out in the little climb at the back and loses 2 seconds.

28:50 The entrance to the sequence of corners is littered with abandoned bikes.

28:30 Sanne Debruyne dives past Eline Vandenberghe in the little climb at the back.

27:40 Lore Deschepper has to let Lieze Peeters go in the hollow.

27:00 Anke Vercammen takes Fien Steyaert back in the steps.

26:50 Febe Tanghe had been sitting on the wheel a while and goes past Elke Naessens in the little bridge.

26:20 They are riding on a third of their tyres; the rest is packed with earth.

26:10 Robin Beyens goes past Ilse Coppens in the little climb at the back.

25:50 The gap to the first chaser is 19 seconds.

25:30 In the sequence of corners Febe Vermeulen gains a place on Noor Vermeulen.

25:10 Emma Maes takes the other line through the hurdles and comes out ahead of Lotte Bogaerts.

24:40 Up front Elke Claes goes past Febe Tanghe — 3rd now.

24:00 There is not a dry thread left on anybody.

23:10 The sequence of corners is drying out on the side the sun is on.

23:00 Tine Nuyts has to let Noor Vermeulen go in the little climb at the back.

22:40 Lore Deschepper takes Fien Steyaert back in the sequence of corners.

22:30 The mechanics are standing ready with the pressure washer; a clean bike every lap.

22:20 They are nearly all taking the same side through the steps now; the other line is finished.

21:20 Come off the line in the pit and you are ankle deep in it.

20:40 The water is standing in the sequence of corners; dive in too fast and you are down.

20:31 Marthe Maertens punctures in the sequence of corners, changes bike and loses 9 seconds.

19:20 It is getting harder through the hollow with every lap that goes by.

18:50 Every lap is slower than the last, and today that is no disgrace.

18:00 Kaat Geens is too quick for Emma Verstraete in the steep side and lies 23rd now.

17:30 Robin Beyens dives past Lieze Peeters in the steps.

17:10 The line through the hurdles has opened right up.

17:00 In the hollow Robin Beyens gains a place on Febe Vermeulen.

16:50 The derailleurs are packed with mud; shifting has become a gamble.

15:20 Get the mud strip wrong and you are standing still — and it is happening more and more.

15:00 The hollow is getting deeper with every lap.

14:50 Fien Steyaert goes past Lieze Peeters in the steps.

14:40 Febe Vermeulen had been sitting on the wheel a while and goes past Tine Nuyts in the steep side.

14:30 Lore Deschepper has to let Marthe Dierckx go in the little bridge.

13:30 Lore Deschepper takes the other line through the hollow and comes out ahead of Lieze Peeters.

13:20 In the steep side Fien Steyaert gains a place on Febe Vermeulen.

13:10 Anke Herteleer is out on their own at the front.

12:40 There are holes in the line through the little bridge that nobody is riding out any more.

12:30 The brakes are dragging with mud; everyone is stopping too early in the mud strip.

12:20 Fien Steyaert had been sitting on the wheel a while and goes past Robin Beyens in the steep side.

12:19 Emma Maes slides out in the little bridge and loses 11 seconds.

12:10 Fien Steyaert dives past Eline Vandenberghe in the hollow.

12:00 The gap to the first chaser is 6 seconds.

11:40 Anke Herteleer has opened a gap and is alone up there.

11:30 Up front Elke Claes goes past Marthe Maertens — 3rd now.

9:10 There is not a dry thread left on anybody.

8:50 Marthe Dierckx is too quick for Emma Verstraete in the hairpin and lies 18th now.

8:40 The rain of the last few days is still sitting in the hairpin.

8:20 The leader's jersey stopped being recognisable a long time ago.

8:10 Bikes are changing every lap — the slippery descent eats equipment.

7:40 The water is standing in the little bridge; dive in too fast and you are down.

7:30 The pits are working flat out.

7:10 The derailleurs are packed with mud; shifting has become a gamble.

7:00 The mechanics are standing ready with the pressure washer; a clean bike every lap.

6:40 On a day like this it is not the strongest who wins, it is whoever runs least.

6:30 The line through the steps has opened right up.

5:50 Come off the line in the finishing straight and you are ankle deep in it.

4:40 All five are hunting a different line through the steps; none of them is finding the good one.

4:20 They are nearly all taking the same side through the steep side now; the other line is finished.

4:11 Femke Verlinden slides out in the pit and loses 2 seconds.

4:10 There are holes in the line through the mud strip that nobody is riding out any more.

3:20 Every lap is slower than the last, and today that is no disgrace.

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

2:20 The steep side is drying out on the side the sun is on.

2:10 The field is one mud bath; everybody is riding on feel.

1:30 The hurdles is getting deeper with every lap.

1:20 They are riding on a third of their tyres; the rest is packed with earth.

0:00 Steenweg: wet course, 4 laps. Mostly climbing and mud.