“You’d have to ask Abrahamsen”: Visma sports director points to decisive E3 moment

Per Strand Hagenes (Visma | Lease a Bike), Florian Vermeersch (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) and Stan Dewulf (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) came agonisingly close to Van der Poel. They could almost touch him, but then began looking at one another — and that hesitation allowed the two-time winner to ride away for good.

Visma | Lease a Bike sports director Arthur van Dongen then watched his rider Hagenes sprint to second place in Harelbeke. “When you cross the line and finish second, you think: damn. Especially when you were that close to bringing Mathieu back,” was the Brabander’s first reaction.

“Per didn’t make any mistake at all in that final kilometre. They worked together really well, and that was the reason they almost managed to bring Van der Poel back. Per and Vermeersch still each did two long turns there. Then it was Abrahamsen’s turn, and he decided not to ride anymore, which is also fully his right and part of racing tactics. And that is the outcome.”

Van Dongen therefore pointed to the Uno-X rider. “He allowed that situation to happen, but again: he was free to race it that way. It was his turn, but he chose otherwise. Vermeersch and Per almost closed it down with those long pulls, but almost is not enough. And ifs don’t count, of course.”

At that stage, the sports director of the Dutch team was still partly guessing, although he has been in the sport long enough to understand what was likely going on. “You’d have to ask Abrahamsen why he stopped pulling at that moment, but you also know nobody enjoys doing one more long turn or leading out the sprint. From that side, I do understand it.”

And so we did ask the Norwegian, catching up with him while he was cooling down after the finish. “Was I surprised Florian looked at me? A little bit, yes, but I had nothing left in my legs and was gambling fully on a podium place. But let me say first of all that Mathieu van der Poel was simply very strong as well.”

And so we did ask the Norwegian, catching up with him while he was cooling down after the finish. “Was I surprised Florian looked at me? A little bit, yes, but I had nothing left in my legs and was gambling fully on a podium place. But let me say first of all that Mathieu van der Poel was simply very strong as well.”

And so we did ask the Norwegian, catching up with him while he was cooling down after the finish. “Was I surprised Florian looked at me? A little bit, yes, but I had nothing left in my legs and was gambling fully on a podium place. But let me say first of all that Mathieu van der Poel was simply very strong as well.”