De Ronde is too hard
Kasper Asgreen beat Mathieu van der Poel in a mano-a-mano sprint to win De Ronde. Both had escaped on the penultimate climb, the Kwaremont, and stayed together on the Patersberg to barrel down to Oudenaarde for the sprint.
De Ronde is a very hard race, over 250km long, over many steep climbs with only a handful kilometers in between to catch your breath. And therein lies the problem. The current trajectory, “De Ronde New Look” as it is referred to, is too hard. While the strongest rider typically wins, the race is often too much a closed race, with little cat and mouse game throughout. After a brisk attack on one of those steep hills, you may see the strongest racers separate themselves from the rest. But that’s it.
I long for the days where a few riders would slip away on the Muur van Geraardsbergen, or de Bosberg and are being chased by a bunch. They get caught. Then another few riders break away, and so one. Think De Ronde 2011 with the opening shot from Chavanel early on, the counter-attack of Cancellara on de Leberg, the regrouping on de Muur, the escape of Chavanel, Cancellara and Nuyens on route to Meerbeek, and a final desperate move of Boonen. What a spectacle!
It is time to redraw the route and make it a bit easier. Bring back the unpredictability! Bring back the excitement.