Laporte rides away to win Dwars door Vlaanderen

Laporte's multiple attacks from the breakaway stuck and no one was able to follow him

With its combination of steep climbs and cobbled sectors, Dwars door Vlaanderen presented the final opportunity for the riders to test their legs before the second Monument of the season. With the start in Roesalare and finish in Waregem, the 183.7 km long course featured eleven helligen and eight cobbled sectors.

The break went clear early on, containing  Alexander Kristoff, Yevgeniy Gidich (Astana Qazaqstan Team), Oier Lazkano (Movistar Team), Nickolas Zukowsky (EF Education-EasyPost), Ward Vanhoof (Team Flandres - Baloise) and Leon Heinschke (Team DSM).

But with around 6 km to go, the race came back together again before ten riders broke away from the decimated field that contained Nils Politt and Danny van Poppel.

The race then opened up again with 4.5km remaining, when Laporte attacked from the leading group and no one was able to follow him.

Christophe Laporte won Gent-Wevelgem last weekend and today conquered Dwars door Vlaanderen. The Frenchman took his chances perfectly and was understandably very happy with what he achieved after another astounding success

"It was a very complicated day, the team did a great job, it's incredible, I'm happy to have achieved it," Laporte said in a post-race interview. On the race strategy, he highlighted the work of his teammate Tiesj Benoot to select the group so that he had the chance to take advantage of his strength at the end: "Tiesj was very strong on the climb, he was the one who made the selection and then we collaborated well in the group and I waited for my moment to take my chance".

VIDEO: 2023 Dwars door Vlaanderen Highlights

2023 Dwars door Vlaanderen Top 10

1  LAPORTE Christophe Jumbo-Visma 4:06:20
2  LAZKANO Oier Movistar Team 0:15
3  POWLESS Neilson EF Education-EasyPost 0:15
4  PHILIPSEN Jasper Alpecin-Deceuninck 0:15
5  PEDERSEN Mads Trek - Segafredo 0:15
6  DE LIE Arnaud Lotto Dstny 0:15
7  BALLERINI Davide Soudal - Quick Step 0:15
8  PASQUALON Andrea Bahrain - Victorious 0:15
9  LE GAC Olivier Groupama - FDJ 0:15
10  POLITT Nils BORA - hansgrohe 0:15