Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) was the final rider dropped by Mathieu van der Poel as the imperious Dutchman attacked in his “playground” up the Koppenberg and went solo to take his third Tour of Flanders.
The young American tried valiantly to follow, cresting the 600-metre climb just a couple of bike lengths and seconds behind Van der Poel, but the difference between the pair would only balloon out during the subsequent 44km of racing.
Jorgenson went all in trying to make an impression on his lead but had no answer as Van der Poel ensured his record-equalling victory was secure by attacking the remaining cobbled climbs, with an eventual winning margin of 1:02 at the line.
“I’d probably say it was the hardest race I’ve ever done, but I’m empty, that’s for sure,” Jorgenson told reporters after the race.
“I went all in to win the race. I knew that I had to follow Mathieu [van der Poel] on the Koppenberg. I was just missing five seconds or something. In the end, I just ran out of talent a little bit.”
Jorgenson was 31st by the time he rolled home, cold, wet and defeated, even stating that “the lights went out” during the brutal run-in. He lost 3:38 to Van der Poel as several groups swept him up and spat him out the back between the top of the Koppenberg and the finish as the rain continued to fall.
Visma started the day with a heavily changed team after their injury and illness problems of the last few weeks left big stars Wout van Aert and Christophe Laporte both out of action. Yet they still took it to Van der Poel and Alpecin-Deceuninck throughout the 270km route and ignited the racing in the middle phases.
Inside the 100km to go mark, Visma had two riders out in front - Tiesj Benoot and Dylan van Baarle, with Jorgenson able to sit in the wheels as Van der Poel decided how to play it. But as has become the norm at the biggest races, the Dutchman kept his cool and waited for his troops to rally.
Big performances from Axel Laurance, Gianni Vermeersch and Søren Kragh Andersen meant that the fire could be put out for Alpecin without Van der Poel wasting his energy, vindicating the pre-race decision to switch out sprinter Jasper Philipsen to another domestique.
“First, we tried to get ahead of him [Van der Poel], but it didn’t work,” Jorgenson admitted. “He was also really smart, waited for his team and they were able to close the gap to Dylan and Tiesj.”
With the threat in front extinguished and only Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) offering himself up to break off the front alongside one of Van der Poel’s teammates, the World Champion was sitting comfortably heading into his most favoured portion of the race.
“From there, we were on equal footing going into his playground in the end - on the Koppenberg,” said Jorgenson, full of respect for Van der Poel’s tactics and execution.
“Today, he [Van der Poel] was the best rider, and that was clear,” he said. “We had a plan to use our numbers and it just didn’t go to plan. We didn't make it in the front at the right moment we wanted to.
“In the end, we still had a really good fight and I’m proud of how we used our team so chapeau to them. To Alpecin also, they just rode a really clean and perfect race.”
Jorgenson went into the race carrying the leader’s role that had been meant for Van Aert before he broke his collarbone, sternum and ribs at Dwars door Vlaanderen. And with Jorgenson still only making his second-ever appearance at De Ronde, Visma-Lease a Bike were not too disheartened.
“Matteo [Jorgenson] doesn't have many 270-kilometre races in his legs, so it makes sense the tank eventually ran out. Anyway, it was a learning day for him,” said Sports director Grischa Niermann.
“Matteo proved very strong on the Koppenberg and almost got to Van der Poel's wheel, but unfortunately, he had to pay for his effort moments later.”
Visma’s top finisher was Benoot at the line after the Belgian had been involved in the chaotic fight that played out for the podium spots with 40km to go. But some poor luck with his equipment meant he could only manage 15th - the team’s worst top-finishing spot since 2017.
“The legs felt pretty good. Unfortunately, I had to deal with some mechanical bad luck,” said Benoot on the team’s website.
“On the Oude Kwaremont, I made a mistake which caused my rear derailleur to take a hit. In the finale, I had a flat tyre. Maybe otherwise, I could have fought for a place on the podium, but that's how it is.”
Another year passes without Visma-Lease a Bike retaking the Tour of Flanders, with their last victory being Rolf Sørensen in 1997 when they were still called Rabobank. They'll hope to have Van Aert next year but his big rival Van der Poel's historic win today puts him firmly among the Flanders legends.
“We went down fighting,” Niermann concluded. “It's not the result we came here for, but we leave the battlefield with our heads held high anyway.”
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