Peter Sagan of Tinkoff has won the 100th Tour Of Flanders.
This 255 kilometres race from Bruges to Oudenaarde includes eighteen hellingen (climbs - some cobbled) and seven kasseien (cobbled sectors).
Amid tight security, Lukas Postlberger (Bora-Argon 18), Imanol Erviti (Movistar), Gijs Van Hoecke (Topsport Vlaanderen Baloise), Hugo Houle (Ag2r-La Mondiale), Wesley Kreder (Roompot-Oranje Peloton) and Federico Zurlo (Lampre-Merida) got into a break and were 2.51 ahead of a second group and 4.01 ahead of the peloton before there was a big crash with 142.5kms left which took down Geraint Thomas of Team Sky and Arnaud Demare of FDJ and required a new bike for Sep Vanmarcke of LottoNL-Jumbo.
The speed for the first two hours was at 46kmh as the peloton caught up to the front group who were without Tiesj Benoot and Marcus Burghardt. who had crashed and were taken away in an ambulance after Mark Renshaw and Matt Brammeier had abandoned.
Onto the Molenberg which was 460 metres long with an average gradient and the gap to the five leaders, now minus Lukas Postlberger, was down to 1.17 with the riders strung out.
With 103.2kms to go, five BMC riders went down following a touch of wheels with Michal Schar down and staying down and Greg Van Avermaet in tears, holding his right arm, which forced one of the favourites out of the race.
Only three riders in Imanol Erviti, Gijs Van Hoecke and Hugo Houle were left with a lead fifty seconds and 98.4kms still to ride.
They started the Leberg climb with a lead of 45 seconds. Houle dropped back leaving two on the Valkenburg climb with a lead of 1.25.
With 78kms left, the two up front were joined on the Kaperji by Andre Greipel and Nils Politt plus Van Hoecke, Gruzdev and Claeys.
Van Hoecke, Erviti, Greipel, Politt, Houle, Claeys and Gruzdev were able to get 2.45 ahead with 63kms left.
That dropped down to 1.49 on the second of three passages of the Oude Kwaremont with Team Sky on the front of the peloton.
Andre Grepel decided to push on his own with less than forty five kilometres to go before being joined by Politt, Erviti and Claeys with Vandenbergh and Van Baarle attaching themselves to the escapers with 40.3kms left ahead of the peloton which was now only abour forty strong and one which contained the likes of British rider ian Stannard who bridged to Politt and Van Hoecke.
World Champion Peter Sagan, Sep Vanmarcke and Michal Kwiatkowski put in an attack and were 38 seconds behind the six up front with 28.5kms left.
Five kilometres later and this trip had caught the escapers whilst Fabian Cancellera was in the second group some 27 seconds back.
Onto the Oude Kwaremont which is 2200-m long and has a 4% average gradient for the final time and Cancellera and Geraint Thomas were amongst those getting up the those on the front.
Sagan shot off with Vanmarcke and Cancellera trying to bring him back and he was eighteen seconds clear with 10.6kms left.
Britain's Luke Rowe and Geraint Thomas were in a third group which was 32 seconds behind Sagan who was calmly riding up the road as Cancellera and Vanmarcke inched closer to him before Sagan put in another turn and got his lead back up to 23 seconds with three kilometres left.
Sagan's advantage was 24 seconds a kilometre later and he rode away to win in 6.10.42 with Fabian Cancellera second 25 seconds down and Sep Vanmarcke in third ahead of Kristoff and Luke Rowe.
"I feel good and very happy," said Sagan. "The day was hard so I went full. I had to change both wheels after 100kms but I have to thank my team. I want to dedicate this win to the two two that died last week and Maciej Bodnar who crashed yesterday.
"I will think about Paris-Roubaix next week. Nobody wanted to work with me today so I did it on my own."
Britain's Lizzie Armitstead won the woman's race in 3.53.38 in a sprint beating Emma Johansson in a sprint finish.
Picture copyright of CNS Sport. Credit CNS/John Bains.