That didn’t happen. However, the appearance at the start line of two-time Saxo winner Wout van Aert (Visma–Lease a Bike) added much of the spice the race had lost due to Pogačar’s withdrawal, though the race is not one of the Belgian’s targets this year. Those are the Tour of Flanders and the aforementioned Paris-Roubaix, in which Pogačar and van der Poel will face off again.
But any dreams of a van der Poel–van Aert duel evaporated not long after Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) attacked on the cobbled ascent of the Taaienberg (0.6km @ 6.3%), with about 82km left to ride in the 208.8km race. He was soon joined by van der Poel (of course!) and eventually Ganna, and they soon caught the two riders who’d been leading the race, Casper Pedersen (Soudal Quick-Step) and Aimé De Gendt (Cofidis).
But van Aert had been dropped and was never a factor in the race. However, his Visma–Lease a Bike teammate Matteo Jorgenson joined a six-rider chaser group as the rain began to fall and the wind picked up. But they never got close to the leaders.
With 39km left to ride, on the cobbled ascent of the Oude Kwaremont (2.2km @ 4.3%, with ramps of 12%), van der Poel powered away on one of the steep sections and the race was, to all intents and purposes, over. Though Pedersen gave it a good shot. He trailed van der Poel by 28 seconds after that climb, but the Lidl-Trek fast man began to gnaw away […]
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