Cycling
Matteo Jorgenson has written Dwars door Vlaanderen. The 24-year-old American from the troubled Visma-Lease a Bike arrived solo in Waregem. A plaster on the wound for the Dutch team, which saw Wout van Aert drop out after a serious crash.
Vincent Van Genechten, Hugo Coorevits
Wednesday, March 27, 2024 at 5:16 PM
What was supposed to be a last big test before the Tour of Flanders turned out to be a nightmare for many favorites. The 78th edition of Dwars door Vlaanderen was overshadowed by a massive fall less than 70 kilometers from the finish. A crying Wout van Aert was taken away in disarray, as were Jasper Stuyven and Biniam Girmay. Mads Pedersen crawled back onto the bike, battered, but gave up a little later.
The match thus continued completely decapitated. The troubled Visma-Lease a Bike still had two weapons left with Matteo Jorgenson and Tiesj Benoot, they would also contest the final in an elite group. It was a tough elimination match. Alberto Bettiol was the first to throw his cards on the table at the front, but he would soon pay for his efforts in Nokereberg in cash. Suddenly the left leg of the Tuscan, who had to release the role, had a cramp.
Perfect team play
A little later it was Stefan Küng who started shaking the tree. The Swiss split the group: with Jorgenson, Benoot, Joshua Tarling and early escapees Dries De Bondt and Jonas Abrahamsen, there were ultimately six men left.
Visma-Lease a Bike still had two pawns at the head of the race and played the team game perfectly: Benoot rolled out the red carpet with a few shots for Jorgenson, who later crushed the rest with a bone-dry attack. The bird had started flying.
After his win in Paris-Nice, Jorgenson now also raced to his first classic victory. The American arrived solo in Waregem and had half a minute to spare at the finish. A strong Abrahamsen sprinted to second place, ahead of Küng. The victory is a plaster on the wound for Visma-Lease a Bike, which will soon have to compete in the Tour without leader Van Aert.
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