A bad crash and a flat tire did not make things easier for Mathieu van der Poel, who today at the Tour of Flanders was hunting for a historic number of victories. The Alpecin-Deceuninck rider had to admit defeat to Tadej Pogacar and was happy to have managed to sprint for third place. "Today during the race I never had a fantastic feeling: I was never able to find the right connection".

During interviews in the mixed zone, Van der Poel surprisingly said he had not been well in the days following the E3, something that had not emerged in previous days. At the beginning of the race, the former world champion was involved in a bad crash, but managed to continue his race. "That incident was not ideal, but all in all we managed well. Just before the second passage on the Oude Kwaremont I was pushed to the side of the road, which forced me to struggle and return from far away. After that, however, I managed to get where I needed to be".

In the end, Van der Poel no longer had his classic brilliance and explosiveness, and when Tadej Pogacar launched his attack on the last passage of the Kwaremont, the Dutchman was unable to react as he should have and gradually his rhythm faded, although in the finale he maintained the necessary lucidity to fight and climb to the third step of the podium. "I felt I was at my limit, I never had a truly good feeling. The strongest were in front, usually that's how it is and today it was quite clear what I was feeling. With experience and willpower, I made my way to the podium and I'm happy with what I managed to do and how I finished the race. The Ronde was on the horizon, but I wasn't good enough".

Van der Poel also admitted to having had a severe cold after winning the E3 Saxo Classic. "After the E3 I was quite unwell for three days and lost some percentage points of form. Especially at the beginning of the week I had many problems, next week I hope to find my best legs. In recent days I have rested a lot to recover, but I hope to be able to train more this week to be ready to give my best at Roubaix".

Next Sunday, the third Monument Classic of the year will be run, Paris-Roubaix, where Pogacar and Van der Poel will clash again. "Next week we will have a different race. Unlike the Ronde, Roubaix is a less demanding race and I hope we will have a bit more luck, but we'll see what happens. I think there will be more candidates for victory compared to the Tour of Flanders".