Saturday, March 23, 2024 at 9:36 AM
Video The reigning world road champion did not have to wait long for his first victory on the road. On his second day of racing, Mathieu van der Poel won the E3 Saxo Classic for the first time. His great competitor, Wout van Aert, crashed and was unable to return to Van der Poel. Yet the world champion feared that, he said in front of the camera CyclingFlits.
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On the Paterberg, Mathieu van der Poel pushed hard again, while behind him his great competitor was introduced to the ground. Did the world champion realize this? “No, I only heard that after I started the Kwaremont. Afterwards he came on very strong, which I expected. I was busy assessing my own effort. It was still a long way to the finish and the wind was not really favorable yet.”
It turned into a hand-to-hand fight. The deficit of the leader of Visma | Lease a Bike shrank to ten seconds. “I had the impression that he would join us, but on the difficult last climb I pushed hard again. Of course I know he’s playing all or nothing to get back in the wheel. The combination of Paterberg and Kwaremont also appealed to me. Then you get some pretty thankless roads to drive on. Like I said, I think I had to judge my effort well and I did that.”
It was the first time for the leader of Alpecin-Deceuninck to win the E3 Saxo Classic. Yet his main goals still lie ahead. Starting next week: the Tour of Flanders. Is he the big favorite now? “I would have been anyway, even if I hadn’t performed here. I will always be one of the favorites and I am at peace with that. I have now taken an extra step. I need these kinds of competitions to reach my very best level. Although I am close to that now.”
