Results and Highlights from the 2024 Tour of Flanders

Grey skies and consistent rain: it must be the Tour of Flanders.

The conditions were fitting for the the second Monument of the season—arguably the best of the bunch. The 2024 Ronde van Vlaanderen brought more thrills as we continue to chug through the best part of the cycling season.

Here’s how both the men’s and women’s races played out at the 2024 Tour of Flanders.

Van der Poel captures record-tying third Flanders victory

Mathieu van der Poel won the 2024 Tour of Flanders, making his definitive move with 43 kilometers to go, and once he did, he left no doubt about it.

It was a vintage cycling scene up the brutal cobbled Koppenberg with 43km to go in the race. It was there that it was all blown apart. Van der Poel laid waste to the rest of the field up the treacherous climb, that gets as steep as 22% at its worst. While many of the riders had to dismount their bikes and try to run up the hill, van der Poel (have you heard he’s a cyclocross star?) stormed ahead. His advantage only grew after that, and it quickly became apparent that it was a race for second.

The world champion and Alpecin-Deceuninck leader solo’d for the last hour of the race. It’s van der Poel’s third win at the Tour of Flanders, tying six others for the most wins in the Momument’s history.

It was a Flanders without a few big names. Wout van Aert—in desparate search of a Flanders title—did not start the race after breaking his collarbone and multiple ribs during a crash at Dwars door Vlaanderen. Tadej Pogačar, who outdueled MVDP at Flanders last year, opted not to race it this year. So van der Poel entered the race as the big favorite, but the likes of Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) and Dwars winner Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) would look to give a good challenge.

Pedersen tried some interesting tactics to try and steal it from van der Poel. The Ghent-Wevelgem winner from a few weeks ago gapped the peloton with over 86km to go. He was able to establish an advantage over 25 seconds, but was eventually reeled back in before the Paterberg.

Luca Mozzato (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) was a surprise second place, out-sprinting a strong field of riders at the end to grab a podium spot, 1:02 behind van der Poel. Nils Politt (UAE Team Emirates) was third in the same time with Michael Matthews (Team Jayco-AlUla) relegated.

9 years after her first Flanders victory, Longo Borghini wins for a record second time

While the men’s race lacked drama in the final hour, the women’s race packed a ton of action into the last 45 kilometers, once the riders got on the nasty Koppenberg. In the end, Elisa Longo Borghini sprinted to the win—with the help of a teammate—to win the Tour of Flanders for the second time in her career, nine years after winning the race in 2015.

Longo Borghini won a three rider sprint to the finish over her Lidl-Trek teammate Shirin van Anrooij and Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon–SRAM). Van Anrooji provided the leadout for Longo Borghini, who seized the opportunity at the end and out-sprinted Niewiadoma for the victory.

Longo Borghini is the fifth rider to win the Tour of Flanders twice. No rider has ever won three. It was a 1-3 finish for the Lidl-Trek squad to cap off a big day for the team.

The Koppenberg proved to be a pivotal moment in the race. The unbelievably steep climb—made no easier by wet and rainy conditions—claimed many victims. It broke the race apart, with two-time defending champion Lotte Kopecky, as well as her SD Worx-Protime teammate Demi Vollering, among many others losing ground

Those two, along with van Anrooij, were able to make their way back to the lead group. Van Anrooij wasted no time and launched an attack off the front when the chasers rejoined the lead group. From there, she was able to gap the field.

With 12km to go, Longo Borghini and Niewiadoma caught van Anrooij, and the chase group—including Kopecky, Vollering, and Marianne Vos—didn’t have the power to bridge the gap to the three leaders and it set up to be a three-rider race to the finish.

Longo Borghini handled the Koppenberg well, and rode arguably the most consistent race of the other contenders in the race. Surely, that helped her in the end, as she was able to catch van Anrooji for the run into the finish, and sprint to the win.

There was no three-peat for the world champion Kopecky, who won Flanders in 2022 and 2023. Going for a record third win in the classic, she spent much of the latter part of the race chasing down gaps. Vos took fourth, winning the sprint of the best of the rest on the day.

You Might Also Like

• The Right Chain Lube Can Save You Thousands

• Everything You Need to Start E-Bike Commuting

• 7 Things You Should Do After Every Rainy Ride