Twitter reacts to Philippe Gilbert's incredible Tour of Flanders win

The chapeaus flow in for Phil Gil

(Image credit: Sunada)

Philippe Gilbert took a stunning solo victory in the Tour of Flanders.

The Belgian champion went solo on the second ascent of the Oude Kwaremont with 55km remaining, and rode alone all the way to the finish to take a famous victory.

Behind there was plenty of drama, as crashes took down Sep Vanmarcke and Luke Rowe on the descent towards the first ascent of the Paterberg, then Peter Sagan, Greg Van Avermaet, and Oliver Naesen.

>>> Philippe Gilbert takes sensational solo win - Tour of Flanders 2017 as it happened

But such as was the style of Gilbert's victory, that the vast majority of tweets barely mentioned the crashes, only offering congratulations to Gilbert.

We're not normally ones for elaborate celebrations, but we'll let Phil Gil off on this occasion.

See more

Mark Cavendish was one of the first to offer his congratulations.

See more

Fabian Cancellara was impressed by a solo ride that even Sparatacus would have been proud of.

See more

Chris Froome made sure he was home from his training ride to watch the Ronde.

See more

Marcel Kittel was impressed by the ride of his team-mate.

See more

Michal Kwiatkowski was also impressed.

See more

Away from Phil Gil, Cannondale were very happy with Dylan Van Baarle's fourth place.

See more

And Wanty-Groupe Gobert were also pleased with the performance of Yoann Offredo, who briefly led the chase up the Oude Kwaremont.

See more

Luke Durbridge was one of many empty shells at the finish.

See more

But it wasn't to be for Luke Rowe, who was brought down in a crash with Sep Vanmarcke.

See more

Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Henry Robertshaw began his time at Cycling Weekly working with the tech team, writing reviews, buying guides and appearing in videos advising on how to dress for the seasons. He later moved over to the news team, where his work focused on the professional peloton as well as legislation and provision for cycling. He's since moved his career in a new direction, with a role at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.