- Israel bans main UN Gaza aid agency, says pursuing hostage deal talks
- Curry to miss at least two NBA games with left ankle injury
- Hefty electric vehicle costs dent Ford profits
- COP16 chair hails biodiversity attaining 'equal footing' with climate crisis
- Aitana Bonmati wins second successive women's Ballon d'Or
- Ohtani named in Dodgers starting line-up for World Series game three
- Real Madrid boycott Ballon d'Or ceremony
- US finalizes curbs on investing in Chinese tech
- Harris blasts Trump after racist rally rhetoric
- Tens of thousands protest in Georgia over 'stolen' election
- Man Utd sack Ten Hag, reportedly set to appoint Amorim
- Bolivia says Morales falsely claimed assassination bid
- Portuguese coach Ruben Amorim set for Manchester United job: reports
- Retiring Popp signs off as Germany's first female football superstar
- Chopin waltz unearthed after 200 years
- England's Freeman keen to make 'life a misery' for All Blacks' Reece
- Serie A strugglers Genoa sign Mario Balotelli
- German citizen's execution by Iran 'extrajudicial killing of hostage': NGO
- Trump team on defensive over racist rhetoric
- Israel to pursue new talks on Gaza hostage deal
- El Salvador troops target gangs in large-scale operation
- North Korea sent 10,000 troops to train in Russia, US says
- Who said what on Ten Hag's sacking as Man Utd manager
- Alcaraz back in Paris with unfinished business at Bercy
- Fallout spreads from racist rhetoric at Trump rally
- Tens of thousands rally in Georgia after contested vote
- Clint Eastwood skips premiere of new film 'Juror #2'
- Georgia president hints at Russian-aided vote fraud in AFP interview
- Apple rolls out AI features across devices
- Sacked Ten Hag was a 'dead man walking' at Man Utd - Shearer
- Real Madrid boycott Ballon d'Or over perceived Vinicius snub
- Sexual assault trial of French actor Depardieu suspended until March
- North Korea has sent 10,000 troops to train in Russia: Pentagon
- Palmer says Chelsea's youth creates its own pressures
- Harris, Trump and two contrasting 'first families'
- Real Madrid boycott Ballon d'Or over perceived Vinicius snub: club
- Suit filed in Pennsylvania to halt Musk's $1 mn giveaways
- Mowed down by cars, European hedgehog numbers shrinking
- One in three tree species at risk of extinction: report
- Five candidates to replace Ten Hag at Man Utd
- UN chief says Sudan is enduring 'nightmare' of hunger, violence, illness
- Trump, Harris enter final week of tense US election
- Ferdinand says sacked Ten Hag like a 'boxer knocked down'
- Chad hunts attackers after 40 killed in Boko Haram raid
- Oil prices tumble, global stocks rise as Iran fears ease
- Verstappen controversy, Hamilton happy - Mexico Grand Prix talking points
- Boeing announces stock offering expected to raise up to $19 billion
- UK far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson jailed for 18 months
- Sexual assault trial of French screen legend Depardieu opens without him
- X suspends new account posting on behalf of Iran leader Khamenei
Van der Poel wins 'favourite classic' for third time
Mathieu van der Poel, at ease in the Belgian rain, powered into history on Sunday as he joined the elite group who have won the Tour of Flanders three times.
"It's my favourite classic. I fell in love with it the first time I took part. And it's the one that suits me best too," Van der Poel told the post-race press conference.
The 29-year-old Dutch rider finished just over a minute ahead of the chasing group as he became the sixth rider in the 111-year history of the race to claim three victories.
"Honestly, I don't pay particular attention to records," he said. "My career has already succeeded beyond my expectations. Everything is a bonus from now on."
Italian Luca Mozzato grabbed second, one minute and two seconds back, outsprinting Australian Michael Matthews to the line. But Matthews was then penalised for dangerous riding and German Nils Politt was awarded third.
"Winning the Tour of Flanders with the world champion's rainbow jersey on your back is a dream come true," Van der Poel said at the finish.
"It was the hardest Tour of Flanders I've ever done, one of the hardest races of my career. At the end I was finished. I crawled all the way to the finish line. It was really hard."
Sunday's slog through the second and most sacred 'monument' took riders over 270.2 kilometres and up 18 nasty climbs, under grey Belgian skies and through persistent rain that made the cobbled sections slippery.
Van der Poel, of the Alpecin-Deceuninck team, spent most of the first 220 kilometres stalking breakaways.
Ivan Garcia had built a lead of 10 seconds, but slipped out of his pedals trying to find the power to climb the cobbled Kloppenberg. Rather than try to remount on the steep slope the Spaniard pushed his bike up the hill. He was not the only one.
"It was chaos. I felt really good but I still had to get off my bike on the Kloppenberg," said Latvian Toms Skujins, who finished 10th. "After that, Mathieu was alone in his world."
Van der Poel, a six time cyclo cross world champion at ease in miserable weather and on treacherous surfaces, surged up the hill and cut loose with 44 km to go.
- 'Really slippery' -
"When it started raining, I knew there was going to be chaos on the Kloppenberg," said Van der Poel. "I accelerated in the steepest part to avoid any trouble. But it was really slippery. I had trouble keeping traction. The plan wasn't to start from so far out, but there was no way back."
With 30km left, he led by 1 minute and 25 seconds from a seven-rider chasing group that had begun to argue among themselves.
The Dutch rider nursed that advantage to the line to join a select club.
No one has won cycling's oldest 'monument' four times. The last man to complete a hat-trick was Swiss Fabian Cancellara in 2014. Van der Poel's previous triumphs were in 2020 and 2022.
Van der Poel's two most powerful one-day rivals were absent. Defending Flanders champion, Tadej Pogacar is skipping the spring classics as he targets a Giro d'Italia-Tour de France double.
Wout Van Aert broke a collarbone and a rib in Around Flanders four days earlier.
"I'm really sorry for all the guys who fell," said van der Poel. "I'm... not close with him... but I'm always quoted in the same sentence as Van Aert and I know what he did to be ready...It's very hard for him."
Next Sunday, Van der Poel will defend his title in the cobbled monument, the Paris-Roubaix.
"We'll have to see how I recover day by day," he said. "I'm going to need several days to recover from today's race."
L.Mason--AMWN