Oudenaarde (Belgium) (AFP)

Le Ronde turned to the expected showdown: Mathieu van der Poel won the Tour of Flanders, his first Monument, ahead of his eternal rival Wout van Aert on Sunday in Oudenaarde, south of Ghent.

The duo, escaped with the world champion Julian Alaphilippe, who fell heavily by hitting an organization's motorcycle, fought for the victory in the sprint, won by Mathieu van der Poel, 34 years after his father Adrie.

The two huge favorites of this Round broke away at the initiative of an attack by Alaphilippe about forty kilometers from the finish.

Only Mathieu van der Poel followed him.

The Belgian Wout van Aert, who had missed this decisive running movement, made the effort alone and joined the trio on the paved slope of the Taaianberg.

The energy expended at that time, combined with his harmless fall just over a hundred kilometers from the line, arguably cost him the victory.

Van Aert, ideally placed in second position in the last kilometer, started the sprint without managing to surprise the Dutchman.

In the last hectometer, the grandson of Raymond Poulidor, elbows to elbows with Van Aert, nibbled the few centimeters ahead of his lifelong rival.

The one with whom he shared the last six world cyclo-cross titles (three each).

- Alaphilippe, attack and fall -

The story could have been different without the fall of Julian Alaphilippe, who left him with fractures to his right wrist and forced to abandon his first Tour of Flanders.

Slower than the other two in the sprint, the French puncher would have been forced to go on the offensive.

He was already the one who really started the race in the Koppenberg 45 lengths from the end with an acceleration that skimmed the peloton to just thirty units.

But, while isolated up front with the duo, the rainbow jersey wearer climbed over his bike, falling heavily on his back, following a collision with a motorcycle from the 'organization 35 kilometers from the finish.

"Afterwards, we rode as hard as possible, says Mathieu van der Poel. It was immediately clear that it would end in a two-man sprint. We increased the gap little by little. And since we thought each one was the faster in the sprint, there was no attack ".

MVDP settled the accounts on the line, a week after criticism of the Belgian against him.

"Apparently, he prefers that I lose rather than win himself. He may have forgotten that I have already won a lot", had launched at the arrival of Gand-Wevelgem van Aert, unhappy with the special treatment that he has reserved Mathieu van der Poel.

The Norwegian Alexander Kristoff, the fastest in the counter group, completed the podium like last year, when he was ahead among the beaten ... Mathieu van der Poel.

- Unrecognizable round -

Despite his fourth place, it was already the son of Adrie van der Poel, winner of the Round in 1986, who had made the strongest impression.

A few weeks before his first big road success, the Amstel Gold Race.

Falling after a puncture 50 kilometers from the finish (the worst moment in the Tour of Flanders), he had climbed one by one the riders scattered over the mountains of the Flemish Ardennes to get back to the leading group, without following the attack. decisive by Alberto Bettiol.

The following year, at the age of 25, he was finally crowned on a Monument, the last born in a line of cycling.

This victory for the son of Adrie van der Poel and grandson of Raymond Poulidor concludes this season of classics, upset by the Covid-19, after the cancellation of Paris-Roubaix, scheduled for the following Sunday for health reasons.

A context that washed out on the great mass of Belgian cycling, deprived Sunday of its million faithful on the side of the road.

As spectators are banned from the start, finish, mounts and paved sections, gatherings are limited to four people elsewhere.

Without the usual raging silhouettes on its edges, Old Quaremont was unrecognizable.

Not enough to slow down an imperturbable van der Poel, regardless of the audience or van Aert's words.

© 2020 AFP