Sagan wins the Tour of Flanders

Sagan claimed victory by timing his attack to perfection, breaking away on the final climb of the race, just over 13 kilometers (eight miles) from the end of the 255 kilometer-long trek from Bruges to Oudenaarde.

"I feel very good, I'm very happy - it was a super hard race from the start until the finish, always full gas," the 26-year-old Slovak said afterwards.

"I had a little bit of a problem after 100 kilometers, I had to change both wheels because I had a broken wheel," he added.

Cancellara had to settle for second in his final season in professional cycling with local hopeful Sep Vanmarcke coming in third.

Cancellara had gone into the 100th edition of the Tour of Flanders hoping to become the first rider to win the race four times, but he crossed the finish line 20-seconds behind Sagan.

"Second is not first and it's not history. I didn't win," he said.

The Tour of Flanders is one of five high-profile classics in cycling known as "the Monument." This also includes Milan-San Remo, Paris-Roubaix, Liege-Bastogne-Liege and the Giro di Lombardia.

pfd/dv (AFP, AP)