Van der Poel lost almost all hope after failed long attack: "Didn't think I could do much anymore"

After several attempts to break away, the sprint on the sloping cobblestones in Geraardsbergen was extra tough. "When you have a finish like that, you know it's going to hurt," said a panting Van der Poel in the flash interview. "I also knew that Arnaud (De Lie, ed.) would make it a long sprint, which is what happened. In the end, I had just enough strength left to snatch the victory." De Lie finished second, but took the lead in the GC.

With almost 100 kilometers to go, we saw Van der Poel at the front for the first time, when he attacked together with Maxim Van Gils (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe). "It was a great moment. I wanted to make the race tough with the whole team. We succeeded: we also had Tibor in the group behind, which was a good situation." Despite a bike change in the last 10 kilometers, Del Grosso finished an impressive fourth, 34 seconds behind his teammate.

The three-time winner of the Tour of Flanders was caught by his rivals as he turned onto the Muur van Geraardsbergen. "I didn't have the best legs, but I wasn't exhausted either. When I was caught by the peloton for the first time, I didn't think I could do much," said the eventual winner.

"Fortunately, I was able to recover. The advantage was that I didn't crash, I'm happy about that." The victory is nice, but it's especially good with his big goal in mind: Van der Poel wants to become world champion in mountain biking. "This kind of effort is exactly what I need in the run-up to the World Championships. Digging deep for a long time is a good way to work towards peak form. I'm definitely not there yet. I still need to improve, but that's why I'm here."

First, he has to finish the Renewi Tour. He already has a stage win, but the Dutchman is only one point behind Arnaud De Lie in the overall standings, with two difficult stages to go. "I'm definitely going to try. Saturday's stage is a tricky one, and Sunday will be a tough day. But the goal was to win a stage here, and I did that. The rest is a bonus."