Greig Leach

Yes, the cobbles on the Bekestraat were rough, but it was Julian Alaphilippe (France) was going to make it very rough on the peloton as well. I titled it before I realized I had the name of the climb wrong, so this is the Bekestraat, not the Veeweidestraat. Alaphilippe was putting so much into the pedals that he bounced off of the barriers as he looked for the sweet smooth spot at the edge of the cobbles. On his wheel, Wout van Aert saw the danger and did his best to go with the Frenchman’s move. Down the hill were both Matej Mohoric (Slovenia) and in the gutter on the other side of the “road” was Zdenek Stybar (Czech Republic) all trying to stay with the attack of the defending World Champion.