Dwars door Vlaanderen Men Live – Attacks, attacks, attacks and Wout Van Aert is off the front

The riders hit the Eikenberg cobbled climb. It’s short but will hurt and could spark attacks.

2026-04-01T13:06:01.083Z

Grégoire, Gachignard, and Larsen are off the front but the big-names are cruelly letting them hang and suffer.

2026-04-01T13:02:30.627Z

Filippo Ganna needs a bike change and chases as the riders hit the cobbles.

We are about to start the final 50km or last hour of racing. Anything could still happen at this point as the rider climb the Hotond again. There is the Eikenberg in 10km but then roads flatten for the fast ride to the finish in Waregem. However, there are several cobbled sectors!

2026-04-01T12:52:24.516Z

Wout Van Aert clearly does not want to and cannot wait for a sprint finish. He makes another surge to hurt the group.

Alpecin are playing a man to man marking strategy, with Tibor del Grosso chasing and marking him.

We have a new attack on the fast main road. Alberto Bettiol (XDS-Astana) is amongst them.

2026-04-01T12:38:15.771Z

The attacks are hurting the sprinters, who had hopes of a controlled race and fast finish. Arnaud De Lie was dropped earlier and both Tobias Lund Andresen and Jonathan Milan are in the chase group.

2026-04-01T12:34:31.371Z

Former Australian rider and now a consultant with Red Bull, Allan Peiper was spotted on the climb of the Berg Ten Houte. G’day Allan!

2026-04-01T12:33:02.948Z

The racing is ever-changing, with attacks, chasing and more attacks.

2026-04-01T12:31:55.379Z

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As expected, the peloton caught the 18 attackers, creating a front peloton of 50 or so riders. The attacks were controlled for the opening 100km but the pace is high, with an average of 49.2km/h.

The Hotond climb is next up and the gap is falling as Alpecin lead the chase. Edward Planckaert jumps across the gap to give Alpecin a rider in the attack. Will they now go clear again?

2026-04-01T12:06:58.289Z

Some riders are dropping out of the back, including Arnaud De Lie (Lotto).

2026-04-01T12:04:45.762Z

The peloton is lined out, in a race of pain, as the 18 attackers look at each other, then decide to push on. The gap is only 20 seconds.

2026-04-01T12:02:34.588Z

Josh Tarling is doing the work for Ineos now. He was a late selection for the race but is in the action.

2026-04-01T12:01:58.600Z

The riders hit the Knokteberg-Trieu (it climbs 1.1km à 7.9%), we can expect it to hurt and change the race.

2026-04-01T11:59:37.947Z

Ineos has five riders up front, with some help from Lotto and now Red Bull. The Visma riders are carefully following the moves. Brennan and Laporte are in the attack, with Van Aert in the peloton.

2026-04-01T11:54:54.487Z

Ineos and Alpecin does not have any riders in the attack and so are leading the chase at high speed.

The elastic is slowly stretching as the 18-rider attack goes clear.

2026-04-01T11:50:48.432Z

The 18-rider attack includes sone big-name riders, including Brennan, Laporte, Magnier, Pedersen, Florian Vermeersch, Lund Andresen, and Abrahamsen. This is interesting.

2026-04-01T11:47:23.703Z

Alpecin-Premier Tech are also aggressive and the peloton has split on the Berg Ten Houte climb. There is a front group of 18 riders. Race on!

2026-04-01T11:44:38.144Z

Lidl-Trek took control of the peloton and quickly closed down the two-rider attack. They have Mads Pedersen and Jonathan Milan in the team today and are keen to take a big result after a difficult early-season.

2026-04-01T11:39:33.170Z

This was the moment and place where Benoît Cosnefroy (UAE) made his attack.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Now Benoît Cosnefroy (UAE) and Alessandro Borgo (Bahrain-Victorious) try a move but the peloton is only ten or so seconds behind them.

2026-04-01T11:32:59.836Z

Four riders got away but a quick chase from the peloton brought them to heel. Gruppo compatto once again.

2026-04-01T11:31:25.261Z

The Volkegemberg climb and the first taste of cobbles has awoken the peloton. We have an attack!

The Hellestraat didn’t spark any action but other riders are in the team cars for assistance. The speed is high, with the average for the first hour confirmed at 49.3 km/h.

2026-04-01T11:14:08.873Z

The crash has raised the tension in the peloton. Jasper Philipsen and Wout van Aert need mechanical assistance from their team cars, while Jon Barrenetxea was the Movistar rider who went down.

2026-04-01T11:06:28.538Z

The peloton is lined out at speed.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

2026-04-01T11:04:50.195Z

We’re hearing that Dylan Teuns has also abandoned the race. That’s blow for the Cofidis rider.

2026-04-01T11:03:39.853Z

Chute in the peloton. Several riders went down and Jenno Berkcmoes (Lotto Intermarché) has abandoned the race.

2026-04-01T11:00:11.582Z

There is only a light, 10km/h breeze from the south-east today and so the wind is unlikely to be a factor.

2026-04-01T10:57:29.303Z

This the official map of today’s men’s race.

(Image credit: Flanders Classics)

After 35km of racing and few attacks, the peloton is still together. Perhaps the Hellestraat climb that comes in 10km will spark the first major attack.

2026-04-01T10:50:44.984Z

“Is it an April Fool’s joke? Jasper Philipsen asked.

“I kind of saw it coming. Those rumours were already circulating some time ago. It is good for the organization and the race. Remco is a contender, alongside Pogacar and Van der Poel.”

Peloton is all together for now

2026-04-01T10:24:18.915Z

Possibly a trending topic in Belgium right now…

2026-04-01T10:20:21.305Z