Having put in strong showings at E3 Harelbeke and Dwars door Vlaanderen, Borut Bozic was a strong outsider for yesterday's Tour of Flanders. It wasn't to be for the fast Slovenian though as a second puncture at the worst possible time ruined his race.

In 2013, Borut Bozic proved that he was on track to become a great contender for the cobbled classics when he finished 2nd in Gent-Wevelgem and this year he has backed up his great performances by taking 3rd and 7th at Dwars door Vlaanderen and E3 Harelbeke respectively. This had marked him out as a strong outsider for yesterday's Tour of Flanders but bad luck ruined his race.

Bozic was with the other race favorites at 50km to go when his front tire went soft on a small, hilly road just before the famous Koppenberg, where all team cars must leave their traditional position behind the riders and follow a short detour. With no immediate support available – special team mechanics were standing by the side of the road with spare wheels nearly 2km away – Andriy Grivko and teammate Francesco Gavazzi took matters into their own hands to help their captain.

But no amount of effort could bring Bozic back to the front, and the Slovenian finished the race inside the prison of a peloton that would not accelerate to chase a handful of riders up the road.

“When Borut flatted the second time he was in the worst possible place," Grivko said. "All the cars were in the deviation and Quick-Step was at the front with six riders.

“Gava [Gavazzi] gave him his wheel and I went to the front to try and bring him back. We had Devolder and a couple of other guys with us too but after 230km your legs don’t always work the way you want them to.”