From the team bus it was barely 100 metres: Mathieu van der Poel goes from the Flemish fields to the Spanish coast

This year, the team-bus parking area for the squads taking part in In Flanders Fields had been moved away from the main road through Wevelgem to a larger site near Kortrijk-Wevelgem International Airport. While the press, fans and several teams were still gathered there, the winner of the E3 Saxo Classic had already flown out to Spain.

“I’m going to train well there for another week, and then I hope to be completely ready for Flanders,” said Van der Poel, who could not suppress a smile afterward. “But against Tadej Pogačar it won’t be easy there.” The Dutchman was dropped by Pogačar in Milan-San Remo, so he knows exactly what kind of numbers will likely be needed in Flanders.

Van der Poel therefore wrapped up his weekend with the E3 Saxo Classic and In Flanders Fields, a sequence that ended with a 100 percent score for Alpecin-Premier Tech. On Friday, it was Van der Poel himself who imposed his authority on Harelbeke in commanding fashion; on Sunday, he played a major role in setting up teammate Jasper Philipsen for victory in the sprint.

“That was a bit our plan, early in the race,” Van der Poel admitted honestly. “I had to make sure I was in the move so I could put pressure on the peloton.” In doing so, the Dutchman forced teams such as Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe and Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale onto the back foot, while also keeping close tabs on rival Wout van Aert.

“I didn’t have the freshest feeling myself, and I told the team that as well,” he said. “I was in constant contact with Jasper through the radio, and he was feeling good. So then I did my job to keep the pressure on, hoping they would still come back so he could finish it off.” That reading of the finale matches Philipsen’s own explanation afterward, when he said Van der Poel had told the team in advance that his legs were not at their very best.

Van der Poel therefore did not take full turns at the front throughout the finale. “I wasn’t at my best, so I couldn’t do the biggest share of the work. I didn’t feel certain of victory myself. That’s why I felt Jasper was the better card for us to play.” With that, he referred back to Gent-Wevelgem 2024, when he found himself in a similar situation and was beaten in a two-up sprint by Lidl-Trek’s Mads Pedersen.

“We had already talked about that beforehand, that we wouldn’t do it that way again,” Van der Poel explained, still feeling the effort of Friday’s E3 Saxo Classic in his legs. “That’s what I mean: I was good, but not super.” Super next week, then, after a few more days on the Spanish coast?