Ronde van Vlaanderen turned into a proper chase, as several groups of favorites went full throttle towards the finish line in Oudenaarde. Tinkoff-Saxo’s team captain Peter Sagan had put in a powerful acceleration on the last ascent of Paterberg but had to settle for fourth behind race winner Alexander Kristoff.
 
After 264km of grueling racing on cobbles and bergs in Flanders, Tinkoff-Saxo’s sports director Tristan Hoffman sums up the race with mixed feelings. However, he notes that Sagan’s near podium miss is a testimony of good shape.
 
“Sagan did a good job today and he was fourth in one of the biggest and hardest races in cycling. He was very close to finishing on the podium, which means that he has the legs, but he missed the very last bit, which we saw on the final 500 meters. I can see that he’s really close to hitting peak shape and we now turn our focus to Scheldeprijs on Wednesday and Roubaix next Sunday”, comments Tristan Hoffman, who saw that the team put in an effort to protect Sagan until the finale:
 
“The guys did a good job and they sat with Sagan during the majority of the race and kept him well protected. Going into the absolute finale, Peter was on his own and he put in the effort at the right moments and rode a clever race”.

Ronde van Vlaanderen, Flander’s finest, once again turned into a showdown between the big favorites and stars of the cobbled classics. After several breakaway attempts during the first, tiring 200km, the race entered the finale with two-times up Oude-Kwaremont and Paterberg. Tristan Hoffman explains how the race developed for Tinkoff-Saxo.
 
“After 200km we entered a key point, where the second time up Oude Kwaremont created a big selection in the peloton and the race exploded. Peter Sagan and Maciej Bodnar were in the front group, while the other guys ran out of energy. Sagan was always at the front without exposing himself to the wind, which meant that he could save energy for the final 20 decisive kilometers”, explains Tristan Hoffman.
 
“When we arrived at the foot of Kruisberg, Sagan was alone and Kristoff and Terpstra went off on the attack. We had hoped that they would come back before the last time up Kwaremont, but they were really strong. Peter saved energy and on Paterberg he went all out in an effort to close the gap. Kristoff and Terpstra worked very well together and in the end, Kristoff showed that he was simply the strongest today”, finishes Tristan Hoffman.