Mathieu van der Poel sprinted to victory at Le Samyn on Tuesday, in what was his first street race of the season.
The Alpecin-Deceuninck rider had added the cobbled semi-Basic to his schedule late, however the resolution to race was vindicated as he out-powered Paul Magnier (Soudal Fast-Step) and Emilien Jeannière (TotalEnergies) on the run in to Dour.
It was the primary time Van der Poel raced on the street – and the cobbles – since since profitable the cyclo-cross World Championships for a record-equalling seventh time final month.
The Dutchman was initially set to start his 2025 street season at Tirreno-Adriatico subsequent week, but it surely was revealed that he would race Le Samyn on Monday; he stated: “If the itch will get too robust, you simply need to race.”
Tuesday’s race was nailed on for a dash after a robust transfer was caught with 14km to go. Fairly than a solo assault, Van der Poel determined to attend for the dash, a transfer which proved sensible, with the 30-year-old exhibiting his energy in a novel means.
“I used to be feeling fairly robust already through the race, but it surely wasn’t exhausting sufficient to make a distinction,” he stated post-race. “I felt additionally lots of people watching me, so I feel at 50km from the end line, I stated to my teammates I used to be going to avoid wasting my legs for the dash, as a result of I knew a end like that is one thing I used to be able to profitable, and that’s what I did. I’m very proud of this win.”
“With a end like that that climbs up a little bit, and the final 5 minutes with cobbles, it’s very, very exhausting,” he continued. “So I knew it might be an opportunity for me to dash. I opened my dash with confidence, and it was sufficient to win.”
The most recent race content material, interviews, options, critiques and knowledgeable shopping for guides, direct to your inbox!
Le Samyn featured 20 sectors of cobbles, principally centred round a circuit of Dour in southern Belgium, and so subsequently proved the proper terrain for two-time Paris-Roubaix winner Van der Poel. The upcoming Monuments – Milan-San Remo, the Tour of Flanders and Roubaix – will as soon as once more be the important thing goal for the primary a part of the Dutchman’s season, with a record-breaking fourth Flanders win on the playing cards.
Van der Poel’s victory was Alpecin-Deceuninck’s second consecutive win on the cobbles, after Jasper Philipsen received at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne on Sunday.
Earlier on Tuesday, the ladies’s Le Samyn was received by Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) after a robust dash, with the European champion victorious for a fourth time this season.
