The scene on the Koppenberg was mayhem, riders strewn across the narrow hill, both feet on the floor, slipping on its rain-soaked cobbles. They gripped their bikes and pushed in a panic. The race was getting away from them. With 45km to go, this was the decisive moment.
Ahead, the blur of the world champion’s rainbow bands grew fainter and smaller. His number one dossard, too. Where mortals were forced to walk, Mathieu van der Poel flew. The Dutchman, born on Belgian soil, vanished over the crest of the climb, not to be seen again until the podium ceremony over an hour later.
“I was slipping and sliding all the way to the top,” Van der Poel said post-race. Crucially, though, he remained seated in the saddle. Only a handful of riders did. It was a show of handling prowess, characteristic of the six-time cyclo-cross world champion, that set him up to solo clear, onto victory, and into the history books.
Prior to Sunday, only six men had won the Tour Flanders three times. Van der Poel became the seventh.
“My season is already a success now,” he smiled. “Winning the Tour of Flanders in the world champion’s jersey is a dream come true. I just need a few moments to let it sink in.”
As his advantage grew in the race, stretching from seven seconds to over a minute, so did the lactic acid in his legs. The rain fell in Flanders, dealing the world champion a test of the hardest endurance, one that asked for mental strength as much as physical.
“I was really completely empty in the last 10km to the finish line,” the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider said. “I just closed my eyes and tried to get there as soon as possible.”
When he finally reached it, he had time to savour the moment. Having pedalled for over six hours straight, Van der Poel eased off in the final meters, and swung his leg over his bike frame across the line. He then stood, in the middle of a usually non-descript carriageway outside Oudenaarde, and lifted his bike above his head.
The breathlessness in his winner’s interview was telling. “It’s one of the hardest races I’ve ever done,” the world champion said. Can he repeat the feat at Paris-Roubaix in a week’s time? “I cannot think about Roubaix yet,” he stared back at the interviewer. In an honest tone, he added: “I’m really, really f*cked at the moment.”
