Wout van Aert sees different version of Mathieu van der Poel than he was used to over the past two years

The fact that Van der Poel would be a tough competitor was of course no surprise. The Dutchman slipped out of his clip pedal at the start, but quickly made his way back to the front. "I had planned beforehand not to burn myself out on his acceleration. I had enough trouble in the first round, but then when he passes you by, you immediately know where you stand," said Van Aert.

The Belgian quickly set his sights on second place, which was a contested fight for a long time. "In the last two rounds, I was able to accelerate, but it was quite painful. So I was glad I hadn't tried to do that earlier, but I'm still satisfied. I need to continue this trend," he said after the race.

"I try to beat Van der Poel, but so will everyone else who starts with me," said Van Aert. "Eli Iserbyt was also very strong, even though sand isn't really his specialty. It was important to keep up when he accelerated. The level of the group following behind Van der Poel was close, so that made it quite exciting."

So what will it take to beat Van der Poel? A different kind of course perhaps, with significantly tougher mud sections? "I am looking forward to some running sections in the mud, but a complete cyclo-cross rider like Mathieu will also do well there," states Van Aert, who on Tuesday will face a course in Gavere that suits him well. "A few years ago, it was also the case that everyone was struggling after the first major acceleration. I have seen that before, but it is different from the past two years."

"In Gavere and Baal, it will be extremely tough, even if it doesn't rain anymore. The conditions will be very challenging there, while in Hulst and Zolder it will be faster, and in Koksijde, it's more of a mix. It's a nice variety," says the leader of Jumbo-Visma.

Meanwhile, the Belgian is also working again with his 'new' coach Mathieu Heijboer, whom he of course already knew from the time trials at Jumbo-Visma. "It's different now that he's also making the training schedules. We have the same training philosophy in the team, but even without regard for Mathieu, we had already decided to approach this winter differently. That's why we trained lighter than I'm used to. It just has to get much better, but there's also time for that," he concluded with determination.