Fabian Cancellara went into the race as favourite and, quelle surprise, he won! Of course, there were some mind games at work, as he dropped back to his car a number of times and didn't follow the lead breakaway group when it looked like he should. Other riders were perhaps under the illusion they had a chance, but it wasn't to be! Of course, there was no in-form Tom Boonen to push him and this race wasn't won in as dominant fashion as it had been in the 2012 edition of the race by the aforementioned Boonen. Indeed, it turned out that Cancellara was to be pushed right to the end by young Sep Vanmarcke who managed to follow Cancellara when he attempted to power away.
Zdenek Stybar also followed, but was unfortunate in nearly running off the road into spectators. He wasn't the only one to have an incident, though, as there were plenty of riders who were believed to have a chance of winning before the race, but who were beset by bad luck during the race, including the likes of Thor Hushovd and Sylvain Chavanel. By the time the race entered the velodrome, it was evident that the winner was going to come from the two who had successfully got away. Tactics were at play, as a little bit of track-standing went on and fighting for position. It certainly made the race more interesting, as Cancellara didn't just ride away with it. Instead, it came down to a sprint, which, despite Vanmarcke's gallant effort, led to Cancellara's third victory in the last of the season's monuments.
