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.
Goosebumps! @PhilippeGilbert wins the Ronde after a great solo! #RVV #live #flandersclassics #UCIWT pic.twitter.com/nRmPh0sCkZ
— Ronde Van Vlaanderen (@RondeVlaanderen) April 2, 2017
Mark Cavendish was one of the first to offer his congratulations.
So impressive by @PhilippeGilbert!! Wow!!! Congratulations!#rondevanvlaanderen
— Mark Cavendish (@MarkCavendish) April 2, 2017
Fabian Cancellara was impressed by a solo ride that even Sparatacus would have been proud of.
What a race from @PhilippeGilbert
— Fabian cancellara (@f_cancellara) April 2, 2017
Chris Froome made sure he was home from his training ride to watch the Ronde.
What an epic ride! Congratulations @PhilippeGilbert 👏 @RondeVlaanderen #RVV https://t.co/A3vqJ1auiG
— Chris Froome (@chrisfroome) April 2, 2017
Marcel Kittel was impressed by the ride of his team-mate.
Wow, just wow! #topteam https://t.co/f2pdt56nsF
— Marcel Kittel (@marcelkittel) April 2, 2017
Michal Kwiatkowski was also impressed.
Chapeau @PhilippeGilbert💪 Impressive win #RVV
— Michał Kwiatkowski (@michalkwiatek) April 2, 2017
Away from Phil Gil, Cannondale were very happy with Dylan Van Baarle’s fourth place.
Huge effort by @DylanvanBaarle to ride to fourth place today. Plenty of stories to tell after this one. Stay tuned! pic.twitter.com/3UVDGjXsY0
— Cannondale-Drapac (@Ride_Argyle) April 2, 2017
And Wanty-Groupe Gobert were also pleased with the performance of Yoann Offredo, who briefly led the chase up the Oude Kwaremont.
Great performance by Yoann Offredo today pic.twitter.com/YLY7GMaRhg
— Team Wanty-Gobert (@TeamWantyGobert) April 2, 2017
Luke Durbridge was one of many empty shells at the finish.
#RVV: Gilbert (QST) takes the solo victory. Great effort by @luke_durbridge1 who finishes in the third group. Report to come. pic.twitter.com/IG2FfCMMXn
— ORICA-SCOTT (@OricaScott) April 2, 2017
But it wasn’t to be for Luke Rowe, who was brought down in a crash with Sep Vanmarcke.
Gutted to crash and break my bike when in the front. Game over. Lost a lot of skin but ready to chew some cobbles in a weeks time !
— Luke Rowe (@LukeRowe1990) April 2, 2017
