Tour of Flanders 2008

Belgian champion Stijn Devolder finally answered his critics with a stylish victory in a weather-hit Tour of Flanders, held over 264km from Bruges to on April 6.

Stijn Devolder

Stijn Devolder proved the wiliest rider throughout a day of drama-filled racing on the cobblestones and climbs which litter the race to claim his first ever victory on the 'Ronde'.

Stijn Devolder bearing down on the finish - pic Chris Wallis

Predicted hail, wind and rain - and even snow - made a timely appearance, proving a major factor in 99 riders failing to finish and helping make the selections in the peloton which began at the Kwaremont climb, the fifth of 17 on Belgium's biggest one day race, situated at the 185km mark.

Devolder was initially primed to help team leader Tom Boonen claim a third career victory here, but since 'Tornado Tom' appeared to be lacking the killer touch on a race he won in 2005 and 2006, Devolder decided to take things in hand.

"Attacking was my own initiative, there were no team instructions," insisted the softly-spoken Belgian, despite the rumour mill claiming that Boonen was upset. "This is the race I've always dreamed of winning. To win here in Meerbeke, on my own like this and wearing the Belgian champion's jersey is just unimaginable."

Nasty rumours said Devolder was helped by the slipstream of Belgian television motorbikes, but he insisted the only motorbikes he could see were between him and Flecha. "After the Bosberg (climb) I was afraid, I thought they would reel me in," said Devolder, who held a 20-sec lead on the chasers after the day's final climb but with still 15km to race.

"In the finale I couldn't see the riders behind me for the motorbikes behind me. And I didn't know they were only nine seconds behind me. If I'd known that, I think I would have panicked!"

Devolder meanwhile said his win would prove to Belgium, where he is criticised for allegedly not having any racing sense, that he is now the king of Flanders. "I really don't care what people say about me, but whoever said that I've proved them wrong."

Devolder's win gave his Quick Step team a welcome trophy after a relatively barren season so far, although there was post-race speculation that his team-mate Tom Boonen, a two-time winner, was slightly miffed. "I had the legs to win the race, but the tactics in the race prevented me from showing that," said Boonen.

"He (Devolder) was supposed to serve as a launchpad for me, but the way things developed meant the whole scenario changed."

Ballan leads Cancellera and Hincapie - Pic Chris Wallis

Fabian Cancellara, a pre-race favourite after his victory at Milan-San Remo, was among the numerous CSC riders to suffer a rash of punctures and incidents that left them struggling from the word go. Cancellara was philosophical in defeat, saying: "Every race is a lottery, especially the Tour of Flanders in the conditions we had today. "I'll take the experience from today and hope it serves me well for the next time."

"It's difficult to go into races defending the notion that you're the big favourite," said the Swiss, a two-time world time trial champion and former winner of the notorious Paris-Roubaix one-day classic. "But I'm not a machine. I gave it everything I had, and at the end I didn't win but that's the way it is."

With 26km to go Devolder went off on his own, and promptly secured a first memorable win on the 'Ronde'. The Swiss admitted that having Boonen behind him and Devolder up front had left him undecided as to which tactic to use. "In the finale Devolder was up ahead while Boonen had stayed back. It was a bit of a lottery. And everyone was watching me, waiting for me to go on the attack," added the Swiss.

"In Milan San Remo I took my own initiative, and it worked for me. Today it didn't. But I'll take the experience from today and hope it serves me well for the next time."

Italian Alessandro Ballan, the winner in 2007, suggested Devolder had outfoxed them all. "When he was in our little breakaway group, Devolder sat at the back doing none of the work for 15 kilometres," said the Lampre rider, who finished fourth. "Then once we got caught, he attacked on his own. With Devolder up front, everyone sat looking at each other, with the result that we didn't collaborate to chase him down."

There was a puncture and a fall for Ballan (bruised leg and change of bike) and a fall for Baldato (no consequences).

“I’m satisfied, I gave everything I had – Ballan commented – The fall was not a good thing, but my condition was excellent and so I could battle: it was a pity that the action begun at 4 kms to go ended”.

Fabrizio Bontempi

“Considering the good performance by the team and Ballan good condition, we could have obtained something more – Lampre’s sport director, Fabrizio Bontempi, said – The whole team showed its qualities, then Ballan tried to win, with the great help by an outstanding Spilak (9th). Alessandro was great, but today Devolver was the strongest”.

Niki Terpstra

Niki Terpstra (Milram) had featured well in the race and he said; "I had bad luck twice and had to be pulled back to the peloton after a puncture. That cost a lot of strength. On the Muur van Geraardsbergen I tried to follow Flecha's attack in order to get away from the following group. That is of course very difficult in a race like this. In the finale I just didn't have the strength left to attack again. But I am still very satisfied with my results.“

Enrico Gasparotto

Barloworld riders Enrico Gasparotto had left his winning hopes on the Wolvenberg. Gasparotto’s experience in Flanders was very sad and he had his shower too early: “I didn’t feel my legs working well from the very beginning. Maybe the bad weather didn’t help me. I’m disappointed, ‘cause I was really hoping of something different”, the Italian rider said.

Leif Hoste

Leif Hoste, a three-time runner-up, had been on the front from early on but his plans changed dramatically when he suffered a major mechanical problem. "The gear system broke off of his bike," explained his team manager Hendrik Redant. "And we had car number 13 so it took us a while for us to get him a new bike. Then we raced about 50km to get in the front but once we got there Devolder was already gone."