Van Baarle watched Van der Poel in disbelief at Omloop: “It’s extraordinary how he keeps doing that”

For Van Baarle, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad was far from a successful day. He finished 46th and, unfortunately, never played a role in the race he won back in 2023. The wind was a major factor. “It all started fairly calmly at ’t Kuipke — you don’t feel the wind there, of course. After a kilometre we felt it straight away, and everyone was on edge. It was chaos from start to finish,” he said.

The conditions led to plenty of disruption and nasty crashes, with multiple riders paying the price. “That makes it even more special how Mathieu manages it time and time again,” Van Baarle said of Van der Poel. “On those roads, always being in the right place, almost always forcing it himself — it’s extraordinary that he does that. But if you’re chasing things all day yourself, you enjoy it a little less than he does, I think,” he laughed.

The Soudal Quick-Step rider sees Van der Poel as a level above — not only because of his power, but also because of his bike-handling. “Technically, I think he’s one of the best in the peloton — if not the best,” Van Baarle explained. “Even without pedalling, he can manoeuvre through the bunch. Not many guys can do that. That’s his ultimate weapon, and it’s what gets him into the right positions.”

Van Baarle himself struggled in Omloop with his clothing, which meant he often wasn’t where he needed to be — and that kept him out of the finale. “That’s what worked on Sunday, later in the race,” he said, referring to Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne. “I take a lot of confidence from that: the legs are good, at least. Especially after a day like the one before — that I recovered well and could still attack. That gives me a lot of confidence going into the rest of the Classics.”

The day after Kuurne, the Dutchman travelled to France for a reconnaissance of Paris-Roubaix, where new equipment was tested. “I’ve got some serious blisters on my right hand from that,” he laughed. “It wasn’t recon, recon — it was more equipment testing. For me it’s all new on the Roubaix cobbles, so it’s really good to do.”