Many of the finishers of the Tour of Flanders have been in a spot past phrases as they drifted by the blended zone in Oudenaarde. In lots of instances, the haunted faces and chattering tooth informed their very own story. If this wasn’t fairly hell, then it might do till the formal appointment with the infernal horrors at Paris-Roubaix subsequent weekend.
Magnus Sheffield withstood the rigours of a tumultuous day higher than most, reaching the end in sixth place. On a day of relentless attacking and driving rain, Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) was in a league completely of his personal, however Sheffield got here residence with the most effective of the remaining, contesting the dash for the rostrum locations, a minute behind the unassailable world champion.
The group of favourites splintered and reformed repeatedly within the second half of the race after Visma-Lease A Bike and Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) had tried to check Van der Poel from distance. Sheffield and his Ineos Grenadiers teammates discovered themselves chasing the race at varied factors, however they have been more and more to the fore after Van der Poel pressed clear alone on the Koppenberg.
After choosing his means by the carnage, Sheffield doughtily emerged among the many strongest of the pursuers over the ultimate ascent of the Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg to attain one of many best outcomes of his younger profession. If victory at Brabantse Pijl two years in the past indicated the American’s potential as a one-day rider, this was an illustration of his capacity to resist Monument distance.
“I felt like I used to be simply driving by teams,” Sheffield stated when he stopped within the blended zone. “I used to be in first rate place each time we hit the Kwaremont, however I feel it was the Koppenberg the place you noticed all of us kind of needed to dismount and run or stroll up the cobbles. There have been a couple of crashes too, however Ben [Turner] was capable of chase in addition to Josh [Tarling] and we have been no less than capable of attempt to battle for a podium. Within the dash, I didn’t have the legs, however I actually must thank the group for by no means giving up and placing me in the most effective place potential.”
The Koppenberg offered probably the most indelible picture of this race, not just for Van der Poel’s successful assault, however for the chaos on the hillside behind him. A gentle deluge all through the afternoon had made the cobbles of the infamous climb extra treacherous nonetheless, and most riders chasing Van der Poel have been compelled to dismount and stroll. After reaching the highest on foot, every man needed to reshape his race as greatest he might.
“There’s the Koppenberg cyclocross race, and I feel that’s one of the best ways you’ll be able to describe it,” Sheffield stated. “Truthfully, with highway sneakers they’re not meant to run up cobbles, and we have been attempting to rise up as shortly as potential. As quickly as I noticed guys remount, I attempted to do the identical. I feel at that time, Mathieu had already attacked, so we have been simply attempting to chase as greatest as potential.”
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Monuments
Magnus Sheffield on the cobbles of Tour of Flanders 2024 (Picture credit score: Getty Pictures)
It’s straightforward to neglect that Sheffield remains to be solely 21 years of age, however he has coated appreciable floor in his seasons at WorldTour stage up to now. Though his 2023 marketing campaign was interrupted by a heavy and traumatic crash on the Tour de Suisse, he completed the 12 months with sturdy showings on the Tour of Britain and the CRO Race. After a subdued cobbled Classics marketing campaign thus far, Sheffield provided a reminder of his capacity on this terrain on the Ronde.
“Flanders is such a historic race. There’s by no means been an American to win, however I informed myself a prime ten was potential, so I feel we may be actually blissful that we have been preventing for the rostrum,” he stated. “That is solely my third Flanders, however every year I’ve come again higher and extra skilled. For my profession, this was a great displaying. I can be taught from this and hopefully I can battle for the win at some point.”
On Sunday, after all, the race winner was working on a special aircraft to all people else, and in latest seasons, the largest one-day races have been the protect of a restricted cadre of riders and groups. 9 of the twelve Monuments since Sheffield turned skilled have been received by Van der Poel, Tadej Pogačar or Remco Evenepoel.
“I grew up racing cyclocross, so Van der Poel was a giant idol, however I do must remind myself that everybody is human on the finish of the day,” Sheffield stated. “Okay, there are the fellows you name aliens, like Van der Poel, Van Aert, Jonas [Vingegaard] and Pogacar. I feel Van der Poel is an unbelievable rider, however on the finish of the day, he has two legs and he’s no completely different than the remainder of us.”
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