Dwars door Vlaanderen: Dylan van Baarle solos to victory
Ineos-Grenadiers surprises favorites in mid-week test before Tour of Flanders.
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Dylan van Baarle (Ineos Grenadiers) won the 2021 Dwars door Vlaanderen on a nearly-30-kilometer solo raid, surprising favorites world champion Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quick-Step), Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix), and Greg Van Avermaet (AG2R-Citroën).
This is among van Baarle’s biggest professional victories. He finished 4th and 8th respectively at the 2017 and 2020 Tour of Flanders.
“To win a semi-classic is super special. It’s really important. Last year was a difficult year with everything that happened, but now we are on the good way,” said Van Baarle. “It’s the best success of my career after many places honor in the Flemish races.”
The Dutch rider’s attack was the only successful break in the day, which saw constant attacks in the final 110km of racing.
Christophe Laporte (Cofidis) took second place in the sprint for the best of the rest, while van der Poel’s teammate Tim Merlier nabbed the final podium position.
Van Baarle attacked on the Berg Ten Houte some 52km out, exploding the front group which had several times fractured and come back together in the preceding 20km.
Van der Poel made the front group but appeared to be off his game, while the “Wolfpack” of Alaphilippe, Kasper Asgreen, and Florian Sénéchal did not make this decisive split.
“Before that mountain, I already had the feeling that I was completely at my limit and I had already indicated in my ear that I really did not have a good day,” said van der Poel. “I would have preferred to race to win, but it just wasn’t possible with my legs.”
Behind the Ineos Grenadiers rider, a distinct chase group took some 15km to organize, with Victor Campenaerts (Qhubeka-Assos), Luke Durbridge (Team BikeExchange), Rui Oliveira (UAE-Team Emirates), Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo), Warren Barguil (Arkéa-Samsic), Van Avermaet, Laporte, and Sénéchal all finally taking up the pursuit.
Growing the advantage over the pursuers to more than half a minute at times, van Baarle went into time trial mode and counted down the kilometers to the red kite.
Inside of the final kilometer, van Baarle kept the pressure on but took a moment to zip his jersey, look over his shoulder, and then celebrate.
Dwars door Vlaanderen - A travers la Flandre ME Results
| Stage | Rank | Name | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | VAN BAARLE Dylan | INEOS Grenadiers | 3:58:59 |
| 2 | LAPORTE Christophe | Cofidis | 0:26 |
| 3 | MERLIER Tim | Alpecin-Fenix | 0:26 |
| 4 | LAMPAERT Yves | Deceuninck - Quick Step | 0:26 |
| 5 | VAN DER SANDE Tosh | Lotto Soudal | 0:26 |
| 6 | KRISTOFF Alexander | UAE Team Emirates | 0:26 |
| 7 | VAN AVERMAET Greg | AG2R Citroën Team | 0:26 |
| 8 | TURGIS Anthony | Team Total Direct Energie | 0:26 |
| 9 | SÉNÉCHAL Florian | Deceuninck - Quick Step | 0:26 |
| 10 | STUYVEN Jasper | Trek - Segafredo | 0:26 |
| 11 | HAYTER Ethan | INEOS Grenadiers | 0:26 |
| 12 | VAN POPPEL Boy | Intermarché - Wanty - Gobert Matériaux | 0:26 |
| 13 | DURBRIDGE Luke | Team BikeExchange | 0:26 |
| 14 | COQUARD Bryan | B&B Hotels p/b KTM | 0:26 |
| 15 | NIZZOLO Giacomo | Team Qhubeka ASSOS | 0:26 |
| 16 | WARLOP Jordi | Sport Vlaanderen - Baloise | 0:26 |
| 17 | LIVYNS Arjen | Bingoal Pauwels Sauces WB | 0:26 |
| 18 | HAUSSLER Heinrich | Bahrain - Victorious | 0:26 |
| 19 | NAESEN Oliver | AG2R Citroën Team | 0:26 |
| 20 | TRENTIN Matteo | UAE Team Emirates | 0:26 |
| 21 | DÉMARE Arnaud | Groupama - FDJ | 0:26 |
| 22 | ALAPHILIPPE Julian | Deceuninck - Quick Step | 0:26 |
| 23 | BENOOT Tiesj | Team DSM | 0:26 |
| 24 | GIBBONS Ryan | UAE Team Emirates | 0:26 |
| 25 | DOULL Owain | INEOS Grenadiers | 0:26 |
| 26 | OLIVEIRA Rui | UAE Team Emirates | 0:26 |
| 27 | GARCÍA CORTINA Iván | Movistar Team | 0:26 |
| 28 | EENKHOORN Pascal | Team Jumbo-Visma | 0:26 |
| 29 | CAMPENAERTS Victor | Team Qhubeka ASSOS | 0:26 |
| 30 | ASGREEN Kasper | Deceuninck - Quick Step | 0:26 |
| 31 | WELTEN Bram | Team Arkéa Samsic | 0:26 |
| 32 | VAN GESTEL Dries | Team Total Direct Energie | 0:26 |
| 33 | BURGHARDT Marcus | BORA - hansgrohe | 0:26 |
| 34 | WALSCHEID Max | Team Qhubeka ASSOS | 0:26 |
| 35 | MAS Lluís | Movistar Team | 0:26 |
| 36 | DEWULF Stan | AG2R Citroën Team | 0:26 |
| 37 | DE GENDT Aimé | Intermarché - Wanty - Gobert Matériaux | 0:26 |
| 38 | POLITT Nils | BORA - hansgrohe | 0:26 |
| 39 | WELLENS Tim | Lotto Soudal | 0:26 |
| 40 | BARTHE Cyril | B&B Hotels p/b KTM | 0:26 |
| 41 | BYSTRØM Sven Erik | UAE Team Emirates | 0:26 |
| 42 | VAN MOER Brent | Lotto Soudal | 0:26 |
| 43 | PIDCOCK Thomas | INEOS Grenadiers | 0:26 |
| 44 | TEUNS Dylan | Bahrain - Victorious | 0:26 |
| 45 | VALGREN Michael | EF Education - Nippo | 0:26 |
| 46 | SCHÄR Michael | AG2R Citroën Team | 0:26 |
| 47 | LAENGEN Vegard Stake | UAE Team Emirates | 0:26 |
| 48 | VAN POPPEL Danny | Intermarché - Wanty - Gobert Matériaux | 0:26 |
| 49 | WALLAYS Jelle | Cofidis | 0:26 |
| 50 | JULLIEN Anthony | AG2R Citroën Team | 0:26 |
| 51 | BARGUIL Warren | Team Arkéa Samsic | 0:39 |
| 52 | TERPSTRA Niki | Team Total Direct Energie | 0:46 |
| 53 | LEMOINE Cyril | B&B Hotels p/b KTM | 0:47 |
| 54 | CLAEYS Dimitri | Team Qhubeka ASSOS | 0:54 |
| 55 | DRUCKER Jempy | Cofidis | 0:54 |
| 56 | LE GAC Olivier | Groupama - FDJ | 1:09 |
| 57 | PHILIPSEN Jasper | Alpecin-Fenix | 1:12 |
| 58 | VAN DER POEL Mathieu | Alpecin-Fenix | 1:41 |
| 59 | DE BONDT Dries | Alpecin-Fenix | 1:58 |
| 60 | GAUDIN Damien | Team Total Direct Energie | 1:58 |
| 61 | JANSEN Amund Grøndahl | Team BikeExchange | 2:00 |
| 62 | DILLIER Silvan | Alpecin-Fenix | 4:28 |
| 63 | KÜNG Stefan | Groupama - FDJ | 4:28 |
| 64 | VAN ASBROECK Tom | Israel Start-Up Nation | 5:45 |
| 65 | HOLLMANN Juri | Movistar Team | 5:45 |
| 66 | BIERMANS Jenthe | Israel Start-Up Nation | 5:45 |
| 67 | APERS Ruben | Sport Vlaanderen - Baloise | 8:14 |
| 68 | SIEBERG Marcel | Bahrain - Victorious | 8:14 |
| 69 | NAESEN Lawrence | AG2R Citroën Team | 8:14 |
| 70 | BARBIER Rudy | Israel Start-Up Nation | 8:14 |
| 71 | FEDOROV Yevgeniy | Astana - Premier Tech | 8:14 |
| 72 | GIDICH Yevgeniy | Astana - Premier Tech | 8:14 |
| 73 | COLBRELLI Sonny | Bahrain - Victorious | 8:14 |
| 74 | SINKELDAM Ramon | Groupama - FDJ | 8:14 |
| 75 | RUSSO Clément | Team Arkéa Samsic | 8:14 |
| 76 | GAMPER Patrick | BORA - hansgrohe | 8:14 |
| 77 | HOFSTETTER Hugo | Israel Start-Up Nation | 8:14 |
| 78 | SÜTTERLIN Jasha | Team DSM | 8:14 |
| 79 | MÄRKL Niklas | Team DSM | 8:14 |
| 80 | NORSGAARD Mathias | Movistar Team | 8:14 |
| 81 | SWIFT Connor | Team Arkéa Samsic | 8:14 |
| 82 | DUPONT Timothy | Bingoal Pauwels Sauces WB | 8:14 |
| 83 | WIRTGEN Luc | Bingoal Pauwels Sauces WB | 8:14 |
| 84 | GRIGNARD Sébastien | Lotto Soudal | 8:14 |
| 85 | KLUGE Roger | Lotto Soudal | 8:14 |
| 86 | HOULE Hugo | Astana - Premier Tech | 8:14 |
| 87 | BAUER Jack | Team BikeExchange | 8:14 |
| 88 | WIRTGEN Tom | Bingoal Pauwels Sauces WB | 8:14 |
| 89 | MILAN Jonathan | Bahrain - Victorious | 8:14 |
| 90 | PFINGSTEN Christoph | Team Jumbo-Visma | 8:14 |
| 91 | SERRANO Gonzalo | Movistar Team | 8:14 |
| 92 | LECROQ Jérémy | B&B Hotels p/b KTM | 8:14 |
| 93 | VINJEBO Emil Mielke | Team Qhubeka ASSOS | 8:14 |
| 94 | GOŁAŚ Michał | INEOS Grenadiers | 8:14 |
| 95 | MAITRE Florian | Team Total Direct Energie | 8:14 |
| 96 | CARVALHO Andre | Cofidis | 8:14 |
| 97 | LIENHARD Fabian | Groupama - FDJ | 8:14 |
| 98 | DECLERCQ Tim | Deceuninck - Quick Step | 8:14 |
| 99 | BACKAERT Frederik | B&B Hotels p/b KTM | 8:14 |
| 100 | SPRENGERS Thomas | Sport Vlaanderen - Baloise | 8:14 |
| 101 | BASSO Leonardo | INEOS Grenadiers | 8:14 |
| 102 | ACKERMANN Pascal | BORA - hansgrohe | 8:14 |
| 103 | EDMONDSON Alex | Team BikeExchange | 8:14 |
| 104 | WYNANTS Maarten | Team Jumbo-Visma | 8:14 |
| 105 | DE BACKER Bert | B&B Hotels p/b KTM | 8:14 |
| 106 | PASQUALON Andrea | Intermarché - Wanty - Gobert Matériaux | 8:14 |
| 107 | ERVITI Imanol | Movistar Team | 8:14 |
| 108 | NORMAN LETH Lasse | Team Qhubeka ASSOS | 8:14 |
| 109 | REIJNEN Kiel | Trek - Segafredo | 8:14 |
| 110 | STEELS Stijn | Deceuninck - Quick Step | 8:14 |
| 111 | KREDER Wesley | Intermarché - Wanty - Gobert Matériaux | 8:14 |
| 112 | OSS Daniel | BORA - hansgrohe | 8:14 |
| 113 | WRIGHT Fred | Bahrain - Victorious | 8:14 |
| 114 | WURF Cameron | INEOS Grenadiers | 8:14 |
| 115 | VAN EMDEN Jos | Team Jumbo-Visma | 8:14 |
| 116 | BODNAR Maciej | BORA - hansgrohe | 8:14 |
| 117 | MADOUAS Valentin | Groupama - FDJ | 8:14 |
| 118 | LANGEVELD Sebastian | EF Education - Nippo | 8:14 |
| 119 | KEUKELEIRE Jens | EF Education - Nippo | 8:14 |
| 120 | BISSEGGER Stefan | EF Education - Nippo | 8:14 |
| 121 | HALLER Marco | Bahrain - Victorious | 8:14 |
| 122 | VERGAERDE Otto | Alpecin-Fenix | 8:14 |
| 123 | DE KETELE Kenny | Sport Vlaanderen - Baloise | 8:14 |
Results provided by ProCyclingStats.