Ganna battles to eighth in Flanders

Filippo Ganna put in a determined performance at the Tour of Flanders to sprint to eighth place in Oudenaarde.

The Italian went on the offensive during the 269-kilometre Monument, forcing his way into a breakaway group to get up the road with 100km of racing still to go.

Supported in the move by teammate Connor Swift, the team had multiple bases covered, with Ganna cresting the Koppenberg at the same moment he was reeled in by a big-name counter-attack.

With pre-race favourites Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates – XRG) and Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin – Deceuninck) bridging across and going clear, Ganna was ultimately forced to limit his losses and manage his efforts on the run-in. The Grenadier did a great job to lead in the sprint for eighth place – his first top-10 in De Ronde.

The fight for victory saw Pogacar go away on the third passage of the Oude Kwaremont, eventually winning solo by 1:01 over Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) and van der Poel.

Also present in the chasing sprint group was Magnus Sheffield, who took 20th place. The American battled back from a mechanical issue on the Paddestraat and had great support in the lead group. Narrowly unable to follow the attacks second time up the Kwaremont, he tried to get away late on before slotting back into the group.

After a rapid start, Swift was one of eight riders finally able to go clear. The Brit proved to be a great help in driving the group once Ganna bridged across, while Jungels, Ben Swift, Ben Turner and Sam Watson all provided support for Sheffield in the group behind.