The scene on the Koppenberg was mayhem, riders strewn across the narrow hill, both feet on the floor, slipping on its rain-soaked cobbles. They gripped their bikes and pushed in a panic. The race was getting away from them. With 45km to go, this was the decisive moment.
Ahead, the blur of the world champion’s rainbow bands grew fainter and smaller. His number one dossard, too. Where mortals were forced to walk, Mathieu van der Poel flew. The Dutchman, born on Belgian soil, vanished over the crest of the climb, not to be seen again until the podium ceremony over an hour later.
