Wout van Aert, Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogacar flew over the start of the Flandriennes season before the “Ronde” on Sunday.
A solo rider, but three. On Friday March 24, lovers of the little queen were invited to a banquet in the court of the very big ones. On the Grand Prix E3, life-size repetition of the great Flandrian, the Tour of Flanders disputed on Sunday April 2, Wout van Aert, Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogacar offered a spectacle of immense intensity.
Have we ever seen such a trio compete without counting on the Flandrians? They have, in the past, offered some memorable games, mano a mano between Tom Boonen, Fabian Cancellara and Philippe Gilbert at the beginning of the 2010s, the emergence of Peter Sagan or Greg van Avermaet thereafter. But such an alignment of the planets between three cycling cadors remains a rare fact at the dawn of a Monument. Van Aert ahead of van der Poel and Pogacar, the most beautiful podium in the annals of E3? “I agree… ‘Cause I’m in the middle of it“, laughed the Belgian winner. Because he knows that triumphing in the face of his two friends is no small feat.
On the E3, which takes part of the route of the Tour of Flanders, everyone played their part. Van der Poel blasted the race away from the finish. “I wanted the final to be the longest and most difficult, to prepare for next weekexplained MVDP. It clearly worked.“
Pogacar is still learning
Pogacar, he learned for what was only the third cobblestone classic of his career with the pros. Not always ideally placed, the Slovenian struggled, and ended up paying for it. “It was a little frantic to get into position, I don’t do this race that often so I have to get used to itdeciphered the UAE Team Emirates rider. I had to draw some energy, but I won’t make that mistake on Sunday. Especially since with Van der Poel and Van Aert, it’s complicated to let them go anywhere, on any hill.“These few trial and error offered a race of movements, where Van Aert ended up being right for having better waited his turn.
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The competition could only see the gap with the three-headed hydra. Even Van der Poel’s and Van Aert’s teammates couldn’t keep up the pace with 40 kilometers still to go. The first pursuer, Matteo Jorgenson, is more than 30 seconds away, and they are only four others to have finished under the minute, nine under two minutes. During Milan-San Remo already, a week earlier, only Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) had been able to follow the trio in a later skimming race.
Three faces, one ambition
The Flandriennes have frequently been the business of specialists, the big names in the peloton, but not always the greatest gathered together like these three companions on the E3, and this Sunday on the Tour of Flanders. Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel, 28, are reaching the pinnacle of their careers. Tadej Pogacar, with his 24 springs, would almost look like a newcomer to the band if we were not talking about a virtuoso dedicated to marking an entire generation, with already two successes in the Tour de France.
“Beating Van der Poel and Pogacar makes this victory even more specialdescribed Wout van Aert after the E3 Grand Prix. One because he is always strong on the big classics, the other because he won the Tour de France and what he is able to do in this kind of very lively race is just exceptional. They are very great champions who force me to give the best of myself.“The rest of the field is warned for the Tour of Flanders, where the Van der Poel-Pogacar duo could already have played for a head-to-head victory in 2022.
The list of underdogs looks good, from 2019 world champion Mads Pedersen to Biniam Girmay or Tom Pidcock if he is well recovered from his head trauma suffered on Tirreno-Adriatico. On the tricolor side, three names stand out: Julian Alaphilippe, certainly revengeful after his modest start to the season, Christophe Laporte, teammate of Wout van Aert who offered him Ghent-Wevelgem last Sunday, or even Valentin Madouas, third last year and more. in addition to the front on one-day races. “I wouldn’t say that Van Aert, Van der Poel and Pogacar are unattainable. They have shown great form and an ability to be present at major events lately, but also have weak points, assures the rider of Groupama-FDJ. And on a bike, it’s not always the best who wins, there is a tactical aspect and we hope to be able to play on that to overthrow them.”.
