The five greatest Tours of Flanders of the last decade

The 2020 Tour of Flanders was unlike any other. Moved from its traditional April slot to October because of the pandemic, the race was shortened to 243 kilometres and held without spectators. Despite the unusual circumstances, it produced one of the greatest finales in the race's history.

Alaphilippe, having become World Champion three weeks before the race, was really strong on the bergs. With 45 km to go, on the Koppenberg, he put in the first big dig. Everything got back together after the hill, but moves like this really put the legs in a fatigued state.

We could see that directly on the hill after the Steenbeekdries. Alaphilippe again put on a high tempo, and afterwards kept pushing on the downhill cobbles. One rider could follow this fierce acceleration: Van der Poel. Behind them, one rider tried to bridge across: Wout van Aert. He had to work hard but made a connection with the two on the Taaienberg with a very impressive effort. The three pre-race favourites were alone together at the front of the race. It was a dream scenario.

Then disaster struck. Van Aert had been drafting behind a race motorcycle. When the moto slowed, Van Aert pulled out to pass it. Van der Poel reacted in time. Alaphilippe, third in line, did not. The Frenchman hit the back of the motorbike at full speed and was thrown over his handlebars. His race was over instantly.

Van der Poel and Van Aert briefly looked back, then pressed on. The pair collaborated well over the remaining climbs, sharing the workload as their lead grew to over a minute. Neither made a serious attempt to drop the other. Both knew it would come down to a sprint.

Van der Poel led into the final straight and refused to swing off, forcing Van Aert to come around him. The Belgian, the better pure sprinter, launched at around 200 metres, but couldn't quite get level. The photo finish showed Van der Poel had won by the width of a tyre.

The 2023 Ronde was billed as the latest instalment of the Big Three rivalry: Pogačar, Van der Poel and Wout van Aert. All three were in peak form, and around 750,000 spectators lined the route. They got the race they were hoping for.

The opening 100 kilometres were frantic. A reckless move from Bahrain Victorious rider Filip Maciejuk caused a massive crash, taking down roughly 40 riders and leaving Van der Poel temporarily stranded in a chasing group. He eventually made it back, but the effort cost energy. Meanwhile, a dangerous group of ten riders had slipped away and built a three-minute advantage, threatening to steal the race entirely.

Pogačar's UAE team took control. On the second ascent of the Oude Kwaremont with 55 kilometres to go, the Slovenian launched an acceleration so fierce that nobody could even consider following. In a single effort, he slashed the break's lead from three minutes to under two. Van der Poel, Van Aert, Pidcock and Laporte formed a desperate chase group 15 seconds behind.

The Big Three finally came together on the Koppenberg. Only Van der Poel and Van Aert could follow Pogačar's tempo. Then came the Kruisberg, where Van der Poel surged hard. Van Aert cracked. From three, they became two.

On the final ascent of the Oude Kwaremont, Pogačar attacked one last time. Van der Poel had no answer. The Slovenian caught and dropped Mads Pedersen, who had been riding ahead, and soloed to the line 16 seconds clear. Van der Poel chased hard but couldn't close the gap. Pedersen outsprinted Van Aert for third.

With 92km to go, a select group already got away on the Muur. Not necessarily the strongest riders, but the ones who were positioned the best. In the group were big names, with Stuyven, Vanmarcke, Gilbert, and Boonen.

With 55 km to go, on the second ascent of the Oude Kwaremont, Gilbert already rode everyone off his wheel. The Belgian didn't hesitate and would start with what would be a very long solo ride. An advantage for him was that in the group behind, the Quick-Step riders jumped on everything that moved.

On the last Kwaremont, with 17km to go, Sagan put on a fierce pace. Only Van Avermaet and Naesen could follow, with Van Baarle closely behind. However, the three crashed due to a jacket hanging over the barrier. This likely made the difference for Gilbert to win the race.

In the run-in to the second Oude Kwaremont, Van der Poel took too many risks and rode through a planter. Due to this, his front wheel broke. He then rode through a hole in the road and, like that, crashed. It looked like he would abandon, but luckily could continue.

He had lost a lot of time, though. However, he seemed to have very great legs and overtook everything and everyone. On the Koppenberg, he made a connection with the first group again. 

On the last ascent of the Oude Kwaremont, Alberto Bettiol attacked; nobody could follow. Van der Poel later stated that he didn't see him attack, otherwise he would've followed him. 

The cooperation in group two wasn't good, as the group was pretty big, so Bettiol stayed away and won the race. In the last kilometers, Asgreen rode away for 2nd place. Kristoff won the sprint from the group behind, as he did so many times in this race, for the 3rd place. Van der Poel ended 4th, after his super impressive race.

On the second Oude Kwaremont of the day, Kasper Asgreen and Mathieu van der Poel put in the first real dig. They actually already dropped everyone and were in the lead as a pair for a brief moment. However, Wout van Aert quickly brought them back.

On the Paterberg, the same two again proved to be the strongest, but Van Aert brought them back again. On the Koppenberg, Asgreen was really struggling, but he made it back to the group. Right after, on the Taaienberg, it was he himself who put in a huge effort and rode the group into shreds.

On the Oude Kruisberg, nothing really happened, but right after, Asgreen attacked. He got Van Aert and Van der Poel with him. Then, the Kwaremont followed. The Dutchman put in a very fierce attack towards the top; nobody could follow him. However, Asgreen made it back with his time trial capabilities; Van Aert couldn't. 

Towards the Paterberg, Van Aert was getting closer, but he then completely exploded, and the two were gone. The Tour of Flanders would be decided in a two-up sprint. Van der Poel put out 1266 watts for 10", but that wasn't enough to beat the Dane, who won beautifully.