Gallery
Atop Montmarte PO24-54
As the peloton crested the climb up Montmartre, it was Mathieu Van Der Poel (Netherlands) going on the attack with Wout Van Aert (Belgium) in front of the Cathedral of Sacre Coeur. The site was a perfect stage for a bike race with a long, wide staircase between this stretch of the racecourse and the art nouveau cathedral. Belgium had the perfect setup for this race. They could send either Van Aert on an attack or Evenepoel, both of whom are fully capable of winning on this racecourse. Then they also have Teisj Benoot who is the man for pulling back any breakaways or counterattacks. This seems to be their race to lose. It is nice that the fans had both the Belgium and Dutch flags out on the barriers to cheer their countrymen on.