Mathieu van der Poel knew exactly what was coming on the last time up the Oude Kwaremont at the Tour of Flanders, but that forewarning was of little help here. By now, Tadej Pogačar’s attacks are rarely surprising, but they are almost always overwhelming.
So it proved here. Van der Poel had somehow resisted Pogačar’s onslaught on the same climb en route to victory a year ago, and he did it again last week at the E3 Saxo Classic, but at the third time of asking, the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider finally had to yield.
Pogačar had already signalled his intent by pressing clear on the penultimate ascent of the Kwaremont with 55km to go, but Van der Poel was part of an elite group that caught back up when the Slovenian relented ahead of the Koppenberg. The next time around, however, Pogačar repeated the dose. Van der Poel came closer to responding than anyone else, but there was nothing to be done.
“What he did today is really special. I already knew from last year and E3 Prijs that he’s strong on the Kwaremont, and he showed that again today,” said Van der Poel, who was still – by some distance – the best of the rest in the finale of the fastest Ronde in history, run off at an average of 44.083 kph.
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Van der Poel would reach Oudenaarde in second place, 16 seconds down on Pogačar but almost a minute clear of the chasers, after a fine individual effort over the Kwaremont and Paterberg. The Dutchman has won the Tour of Flanders twice before, in 2020 and 2022, but there is a strong argument that this was his finest athletic display yet at this race. It was simply his misfortune to run into a Pogačar with his settings locked on scorched-earth mode.
“It’s never good to finish second but it’s a bit easier here because he was the strongest, he deserved the win,” said Van der Poel, who was caught out when the bunch split in two during a breathless opening hour of racing. The ensuing 20km chase saw Van der Poel lose a number of teammates long before the finale, even if he downplayed its significance when he arrived in the mixed zone afterwards.
“This is my fifth Ronde, I think, and I never rode one like that, it was à bloc from the start. At the start, I was caught behind the split, and I had some teammates with me who suffered to bring me back up to the peloton. But for me, it was fine, so I don’t think I lost my race there. It’s just that Tadej was really strong today.”
Van der Poel set out from Bruges as joint favourite alongside Pogačar and Wout van Aert, but for a time the Big Three looked to have been outflanked by a long-range move featuring Neilson Powless and Stefan Küng. They began to take matters in their hands, however, when they surged on the Koppenberg and set off in pursuit of the escapees.
On the Kruisberg, Van der Poel would unleash the attack that doomed his eternal rival Van Aert, but there was never any prospect of shaking off Pogačar. His only hope lay in trying to repeat last year’s miracle of somehow withstanding the double Tour de France winner’s irresistible force.
“At the start, I didn’t feel really strong, I was feeling the cold a bit too. But after two or three attacks, I started to feel better,” Van der Poel said. “On the Taaienberg, my chain skipped and that cost me a bit of energy but not too much. On the Kruisberg, I put in a good attack. I knew I needed to make the race there, to drop Van Aert, because he’s really strong in the sprint. But I had no answer to Tadej’s attack on the Kwaremont.
“That was a pity, but this was one of the best editions of the Ronde for me personally. Even from the last time up the Paterberg to the finish, I didn't go below 400 watts, but I just couldn’t get any closer. When that happens, you are a deserved second and you cannot complain.”
Two years ago, Van der Poel cut a forlorn figure in Oudenaarde after he suffered a surprise defeat in a two-up sprint at the hands of Kasper Asgreen. This defeat, on the other hand, seemed altogether easier to digest. Van der Poel’s smile as he talked reporters through his race told its own story.
After winning Milan-San Remo two weeks ago, his Spring is already a success. With Paris-Roubaix to come next week, it might get even better.
“I hope so,” Van der Poel said. “It’s a different race to the Ronde. I think the Ronde suits me a bit better than Roubaix. But I’ll try, because the legs and the form are there.”
They clearly are. Better yet, this time Pogačar won’t be.
