BRUSSELS, Belgium — Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland won a four-way power sprint to the finish line on Sunday to repeat as Tour of Flanders champion.
Cancellara unleashed an explosive finish after 259 kilometres (161 miles) of racing to clinch one of the year’s toughest classics for the third time, crossing the line in 6 hours, 15 minutes, 25 seconds.
In the sprint, Cancellara beat a trio of Belgians, with Greg Van Avermaet taking second place ahead of Sven Vanmarcke and Stijn Vandenbergh.
“It was man against man, and I just kept pushing,” Cancellara said.
Last year Cancellara won the classic by relying on his overwhelming time trial talents, and this time he won with a finish that no one could match.
“Amazing day again, I feel sorry for the Belgians,” Cancellara said after he crossed the line with pumping fists aloft.
With his victory, Cancellara joined five other greats of cycling who won the Tour of Flanders three times.
Along with finishing second in the Milan-San Remo classic, this victory in Oudenaarde makes Cancellara the overwhelming favourite to also win the Paris-Roubaix World Tour classic next week — the cobblestone classic which he also has won three times.
Whatever happens there, Sunday’s victory further confirms the 33-year-old Cancellara as one of the greatest one-day riders of his age.
It was supposed to be a clash of giants between Cancellara, three-time winner Tom Boonen and upcoming star Peter Sagan.
But when victory seemed to be slipping away with Van Avermaet and Vandenbergh away by a minute with 20 kilometres to go, Cancellara was the only one who had the power to turn his fortunes around, despite the lack of teammates around him.
He took Vanmarcke in his slipstream and powered to the head of the race. From there on, he was savvy enough to keep the three Belgians in check before launching his unstoppable finish.
Alexander Kristoff of Norway, who won Milan-San Remo, finished fifth — 20 seconds behind. Boonen was seventh, 28 seconds behind.
The classic was raced under overcast conditions with the temperatures hovering around 14C (57F).
The riders move to northern France for Paris-Roubaix next Sunday, which concludes the first part of the classic spring season. Afterward, the riders switch the cobblestones and flat farm fields for the wooded hills in southern Belgium and the Netherlands.