2015 Tour of Flanders

For the women's race, see 2015 Tour of Flanders for Women.
2015 Tour of Flanders
2015 UCI World Tour, race 8 of 28
Alexander Kristoff became the first Norwegian winner
Race details
Date 5 April 2015
Distance 264.9 km (164.6 mi)
Winning time 6h 26' 38"
Palmares
Winner  Alexander Kristoff (NOR) (Team Katusha)
Second  Niki Terpstra (NED) (Etixx–Quick-Step)
Third  Greg Van Avermaet (BEL) (BMC Racing Team)

The 2015 Tour of Flanders (in Dutch, Ronde van Vlaanderen) was the 99th edition of the Tour of Flanders one-day cycling race. It took place on 5 April and was the eighth race of the 2015 UCI World Tour.[1][2] The race is one of the cobbled classics and is the second of the cycling monuments in the 2015 calendar.[3] The 2014 champion was Fabian Cancellara; he was not able to defend his title after breaking two vertebrae in a crash at E3 Harelbeke.[4]

The race was won by Alexander Kristoff in a two-man sprint against Niki Terpstra. Greg Van Avermaet finished third.

Route

The route of the 2015 edition of the race was only very slightly adjusted from that of the 2014 edition, with two climbs added to the route.[5] It was 264.9 kilometres (164.6 mi) in length, 5.8 kilometres (3.6 mi) longer than in the previous year and featured 19 small climbs, some of them cobbled.[6][7][8] The race started in the Belgian city of Brugge, in the Grote Markt, with a 9.2 kilometres (5.7 mi) neutral zone. The racing began after the riders passed through Loppen, on the outskirts of Brugge. The first part of the route was a 43.6 kilometres (27.1 mi) route south to the city of Kortrijk, passing through Zwevezele, Ardooie and Izegem. This part of the route was almost entirely flat.[9][10] After Kortrijk, the route turned east towards the region known as the Flemish Ardennes.[11]

Teams

As the Tour of Flanders is a UCI World Tour event, all 17 UCI WorldTeams were invited automatically and were obliged to send a squad.[12] Eight Professional Continental teams received wildcard invitations.[13]

UCI WorldTeams

UCI Professional Continental teams

Pre-race favorites

The field of the race was marked by the absence of defending champion Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing) and former winner Tom Boonen (Etixx–Quick-Step), both ruled out by crashes earlier in the season. Several riders were named as potential favorites for the victory, among them Geraint Thomas (Team Sky), who came off the back of a victory at the E3 Harelbeke and a third-place finish at Gent–Wevelgem just a few days before. In the absence of Cancellara, Trek Factory Racing's squad was led by Stijn Devolder, the only former winner in the peloton, although he was not considered to have the best chances. Etixx–Quick-Step's squad featured Niki Terpstra, Zdeněk Štybar, and Stijn Vandenbergh, all of which were considered serious contenders. Team Katusha was led by Alexander Kristoff and Luca Paolini, the latter of which had proven his good form by winning Gent–Wevelgem earlier in the week, but had declared to work for his teammate for this race. Other possible contenders included Milan–San Remo winner John Degenkolb (Giant–Alpecin) and Peter Sagan (Tinkoff–Saxo), although the Slovaks form had been called into question prior to the race. In addition, commentators named Greg van Avermaet (BMC Racing Team), Sep Vanmarcke (LottoNL–Jumbo), Lars Boom (Astana), Filippo Pozzato (Lampre–Merida), Jürgen Roelandts, Jens Debusschere (both Lotto–Soudal), and Sylvain Chavanel (IAM Cycling) among the high number of possible contenders. Barry Ryan on cyclingnews.com declared the race "wide open and [...] a nightmare to predict".[10][14][15]

Results

Cyclist Team Time UCI World Tour
Points
1  Alexander Kristoff (NOR) Team Katusha 6h 26’ 38” 100
2  Niki Terpstra (NED) Etixx–Quick-Step s.t. 80
3  Greg Van Avermaet (BEL) BMC Racing Team + 7” 70
4  Peter Sagan (SVK) Tinkoff–Saxo + 17” 60
5  Tiesj Benoot (BEL) Lotto–Soudal + 35" 50
6  Lars Boom (NED) Astana + 35" 40
7  John Degenkolb (GER) Giant–Alpecin + 48" 30
8  Jürgen Roelandts (BEL) Lotto–Soudal + 48" 20
9  Zdeněk Štybar (CZE) Etixx–Quick-Step + 48" 10
10  Martin Elmiger (SUI) IAM Cycling + 48" 4

References

  1. ↑ "UCI confirm WorldTour Calendar 2015". Cycling News. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  2. ↑ "2015 UCI Calendar". UCI. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  3. ↑ "Team Sky’s Richie Porte holds off Alejandro Valverde to win Volta a Catalunya". The Guardian. 29 March 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  4. ↑ Clarke, Stuart (27 March 2015). "Cancellara out of Classics after E3 Harelbeke crash". Cycling Weekly. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  5. ↑ Brown, Gregor (26 November 2014). "Tour of Flanders route tweaked but not radically changed for 2015". Cycling Weekly. Archived from the original on 8 February 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  6. ↑ "Tour of Flanders 2015: The Route". cyclingstage.com. 5 April 2015. Archived from the original on 7 February 2016. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
  7. ↑ "Ronde van Vlaanderen / Tour des Flandres". ProCyclingStats. Archived from the original on 8 February 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  8. ↑ "Ronde van Vlaanderen / Tour des Flandres 2014 - Classic". ProCyclingStats. Archived from the original on 8 February 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  9. ↑ "KAART. Het parcours van de Ronde van Vlaanderen 2015". Het Nieuwsblad. 1 April 2015. Archived from the original on 8 February 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  10. 1 2 Ryan, Barry (3 April 2015). "Tour of Flanders 2015: Preview | Cyclingnews.com". Cyclingnews.com. Archived from the original on 7 February 2016. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
  11. ↑ "RVV2015 Elite Men Roadmap" (PDF). rvv.be. Flanders Classics. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  12. ↑ "UCI Cycling Regulations: Part 2: Road Races page 110 article 2.15.127" (PDF). Union Cycliste Internationale. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 July 2015. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  13. ↑ Windsor, Richard (12 February 2015). "Tour of Flanders 2015 wildcard teams revealed". Cycling Weekly. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  14. ↑ "Tour of Flanders 2015 preview - Cycling Weekly". Cycling Weekly. 1 April 2015. Archived from the original on 7 February 2016. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
  15. ↑ Hughes, David (2 April 2015). "Can Geraint Thomas lead Sky to glory in the Tour of Flanders?". The Independent. Archived from the original on 7 February 2016. Retrieved 7 February 2016.

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