This time, there was no Tadej Pogacar or Wout van Aert to thwart his plans. Untouchable, Mathieu Van der Poel won the Tour of Flanders on Sunday March 31 for the third time in his career, after his first two successes in 2020 and 2022. Raising his arms for the third time at the finish line of the Round, in Oudenaarde (Belgium), the Dutchman equals the record for victories in the Flandrian classic, now held by seven riders.
Van der Poel will have the opportunity to win others, because he is only 29 years old but, also and above all, because he is undoubtedly the best Monuments rider (the greatest classics) of the moment . On Sunday, the absence of his best enemy, Wout van Aert – victim of a heavy fall during Across Flanders on Wednesday, the Belgian will be convalescing for several weeks – obviously made his task easier. But nothing says that the outcome would not have been similar with Van Aert.
Van der Poel's victory in the E3 Classic GP on Friday March 22 will therefore have been a signal sent to the competition. An announcement even, given the scenario of the two races. During the “mini-Ronde”, Van der Poel won after a solo raid of forty-three kilometers. Sunday, it was forty-five. Raymond Poulidor's grandson made the difference over 600 meters, without really attacking, but thanks to a more powerful pedal stroke than the others.
Launched in pursuit of Ivan Garcia Cortina (Movistar), the peloton saw the Spaniard planted on the slippery cobblestones during the ascent of the Koppenberg. Everyone then skated, forced to put one foot on the ground. Apart from Van der Poel and Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a bike), full of confidence after his victory on Across Flanders on Wednesday. “I wanted to make a difference in the Koppenberg. I wanted to be alone at the top,” Van der Poel clarified after the race.
Van der Poel sera le favorite de Paris-Roubaix
Faced with the Dutchman's will, Jorgenson ultimately did not keep up the pace for long, quickly falling behind. In less than fifteen kilometers, the Alpecin-Deceuninck runner opened up a gap of more than a minute and thirty seconds on his pursuers. A chasm impossible to fill when the leader is called Van der Poel. The latter finally won the race with a one minute and three seconds lead, ahead of Luca Mozzato (2nd, Arkéa-B
Without Van Aert, the Dutchman still had to be wary of certain ambitious people, like Mads Pedersen. Winner in Ghent-Wevelgem in the sprint, Sunday March 24, ahead of Van der Poel, the Dane hoped to achieve the same feat, despite his heavy fall during Across Flanders in the middle of the week. Mummified to treat his wounds, Pedersen was the first of the favorites to liven up the race, attacking 100 kilometers from the finish, in Molenberg.
He returned there several times, to try to destabilize Alpecin-Deceuninck, Van der Poel's team, identified as the latter's biggest weakness. Without panicking, the Dutchman caught up with a group of seven riders at the head of the race in the Valkenberg, before letting everyone go forty kilometers further on. “My season is already a success. When you win the Tour of Flanders with the world champion jersey, it’s a dream come true,” said Van der Poel.
After playing the model teammate during the first Monument of the season, putting aside his ambitions to help Jasper Philipsen win Milan-San Remo, Van der Poel has regained his role as leader and glutton for the classics. In a week, he will again be the big favorite, this time for the 121st edition of Paris-Roubaix, a race he won for the first time in 2023. If he wins, he would become the thirteenth rider to win the Hell of the North following the Tour of Flanders during the same season.
The Tricolores struggled this Sunday. The first of them is Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ), who had great ambitions after finishing 3rd in the event in 2022. But the wearer of the French champion jersey only finished 16th, 2 minutes behind and 2 sec from Van der Poel.
