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The 2015 cobbled Classics: the winners and losers

Who shone this spring and who still has much to prove?

Winners and losers

  • John Degenkolb has enjoyed a stunning spring, but Paris-Roubaix was the fourth second-place finish for Etixx-QuickStep in the four cobbled WorldTour races (Pic: Sirotti)

  • Alexander Kristoff celebrates his Tour of Flanders victory in 2015 (pic: Sirotti)

  • John Degenkolb enjoyed a sublime spring and now has the chance to prove his worth at the Tour (pic: Sirotti)

  • Luke Rowe, Team Skym Paris-Roubaix, 2015, cobbles, pic: Sirotti

    Rowe put in a strong ride for Team Sky at Paris-Roubaix, supporting Sir Bradley Wiggins in the front group in front of the travelling Welsh fans (pictured) before going on to finish a career-high eighth (pic: Sirotti)

  • Zdenek Stybar, Etixx-QuickStep, 2015, pic: Sirotti

    Zdenek Stybar twice finished second for Etixx-QuickStep, as did Niki Terpstra (pic: Sirotti)

  • Peter Sagan, Tinkoff-Saxo, sad, e3 HArelbeke, 2015, pic: Sirotti

    Peter Sagan has cut a frustrated figure of late and Tinkoff-Saxo have much to prove (pic: Sirotti)

  • Sep Vanmarcke, gravel, Strade Bianche, LottoNL-Jumbo, pic: Sirotti

    Sep Vanmarcke missed a big opportunity to win his first major Classics (pic: Sirotti)

Winners and losers

Paris-Roubaix marked the end of an enthralling cobbled Classics campaign, with the cobbles of Belgium and northern France having hosted plenty of intriguing, high-octane action over the last fortnight or so.

Team Sky’s Geraint Thomas sealed a maiden Classics win and a changing of the guard with Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) and John Degenkolb (Giant-Alpecin) progressing from contenders to winners also ensued.

Katusha enjoyed a double success, with Luca Paolini also victorious at Gent-Wevelgem, but the same could not be said for Etixx-QuickStep who finished second in all four cobbled WorldTour Classics.

So who emerged from the fields of Flanders and France triumphant and who will move onto the next phase of the season – with the Ardennes Classics next on the horizon and the Giro d’Italia less than a month away – with plenty still to prove?

Topics:

Classics 2015

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