Greg Van Avermaat got off to a slow start, but after saving his strength for the climb up the Paterberg, the Olympic Champion was the lone winner in an unprecedented virtual Tour of Flanders.

Flanders Classics, organizer of the Tour of Flanders, heavily promoted this "lockdown edition" after the COVID-19 pandemic had canceled all sporting events worldwide since early March. With De Ronde postponed, 13 riders took to BKool's virtual platform to compete on a 32-km course that included simulations of Kruisberg, Aude Kwaremont, and Paterberg.

Van Avermaat's virtual success came two days after his CCC team announced that it would significantly reduce the salaries of its riders and suspend most of its staff for the season.

Remco Evenpole (Deceuninck-Quickstep) took the early lead, but Van Avermaat, along with Oliver Naessen (AG2R La Mondiale), Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal), and Michael Matthews (Sunweb), the chase group The team settled into a group with Tim Wellens (Lot Soudal) and Michael Matthews (Sunweb).

Evenpole was caught by Thomas Degent (Lotto Soudal), defending champion Alberto Bettiol (EF Pro Cycling), and Nicolas Roche (Sunweb), but Van Avermaat and Naessen tackled The lead plummeted in Aude Quaremont.

Van Avermaat made the winning move in Paterberg and it was game over for his rivals.

"I haven't had my heart rate go up like that in a long time. I'm happy with my performance. Racing from home is a bit special, but I did the best I could."

"I was shocked by the speed early on and that forced me to back off in Kruisberg. After that I ran dead last. It was a real block."

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A few hundred kilometers short, Van Avermaat said, "There was no drafting, but it was like a real race. 'Drafting is fun,' he said. I don't think I'm exaggerating, I think everyone had fun."

"It was a very good idea. Everyone loves the Tour de Flanders. It's not a worthy replacement for the real Tour, but we were able to entertain people a little bit."

A pre-race favorite, Evenpoel was disappointed with his strategy and admitted that he was caught off guard by Van Avermaet's attack. He said, "I saw Greg Van Avermaet standing up in Paterberg on the video. But he was right to do so," Evenpoel said.

"It was really heavy there. It was tough. I was still trying to get back, but they just kept running away. So it was game over."

[24] "It was super hard for 45 minutes. It was good training. I've only been training for a few days and within 10 minutes my engine was running. My heart rate is still pretty high.