Winners and losers from the Tour of Flanders

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Nick Nuyens (Saxo Bank Sungard) crests the Kapelmuur — Nick Nuyens (Saxo Bank Sungard) cr♔ests the Kapelmuur (Image credit: www.ispaphoto.com)

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Nick Nuyens (Saxo Bank-SunGard) celebrates (Image credit: Bettini Photo)

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Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step) early in his solo move. — Sylvꦅain Chavanel (Quick Step) early🐷 in his solo move. (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

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Fabian Cancellara lacked the snap to detonate Sylvain Chavanel on the Kapelmuur — Fabian Ca🤡ncellara lacked the snap to detonate Sylvain🧸 Chavanel on the Kapelmuur (Image credit: www.ispaphoto.com)

Winners

“The first time we saw Nuyens was in the final break. Until then we’d not taken a single photo,” said one photographer after the race, which said everything about his tactically impressive display. Distanced on the Kwaremont with Stijn Devolder, he regained contact and managed to keep out of trouble, placing just behind the likes of Boonen, Gilbert and Cancellara on most of the climbs, while also letting them slug it out to no avail on a series of energy sapping hellingen.

He only arrived in Belgium on the eve of Flanders, but Riis comes away from the weekend with his reputation as one of the smartest directors enhanced. He’ll always have his detractors, for obvious reasons, but for the second year in a row and with a much weaker team, he again comes away holding up the arm of the champion.꧅ After the exodus to Leopard Trek, Riis will have taken immense satisfaction in beating Cancellara and Nygaard - although he’ll perhaps never say it publicly.

Immense all day long, spending far more time off the front than Cancellara and covering every move that mattered, he was Quick Step’s strongest rider, and if Wilfred Peters had 𒉰made the call for Boonen to work for Chavanel, the result could have been different. We’ve said before that Quick Step are slow to take the initiative and profit from opportunities, and Sunday was a perfect example.

The only criticism can be levelled at his need to do everything too soon. Clearly the strongest rider in the race, the initial attack that brought him to Boom and Boasson Hagen – with Boonen in tow – should have been the launching pad for a move later in the race. Flanders is a race won in phases, so building a healthy lead withಌ riders of the calibre of Boom would have given him a platform from which to attack later in the race.

And toও that extent Garmin are everything BMC aren’t. Last week Gerard Vroomen took exception to the fact that we placed his team within the losers section after Gen𝓰t-Wevelgem and E3, but it’s hard for him to defend the team’s tag after what was their worst display in 2011. In Farrar, Hushovd and Haussler they possess strength and quality, but once again it was left to Farrar to paper over the cracks within the team.

Quite why Garmin are off the pace might baffle some, but what’s clear is that the team lack confidence and perhaps even leade💯rship off the road. Matt White’s dismissal has been filled by Peter Van Petegem, but for all his success as a rider he lacks the Australian’s charisma and skills. On the road, their best-laid plans were simply blown away by the fact that they weren’t strong enough and with Roubaix less than a week away it’s hard to see how they can come back.

From bad to worse for Pippo at Flanders, who si🤡mply didn’t have the legs this weekend. It appears that the Italian isn’t just facing tough opposition out on the road either with internal friction between him and Andrei Tchmil reportedly almost reaching boiling point. He’s suggested that the team have given up on him and by all accounts he could be off to GEOX in 2012. Roubaix still awaits and the Italian, who has performed there in the past, will be looking to rescue his year.