It's typically only Tadej Pogačar who can make Mathieu van der Poel accept defeat in the toughest one-day races, but after 63 kilometres almost entirely on his own in front at the E3 Saxo Classic on Friday and with a four-man chase group bearing down on him, the Dutchman had all but given in as he started to run out of steam.
"I gave up, actually, because they were so close," admitted Van der Poel during his winner's press conference after narrowly holding on for the victory. "But then I thought, if I wait now and they come back and it's a sprint, for sure, I'll come last in the group because I was on the limit.
