This time, Pogacar got screwed.

Mathieu van der Poel won the Tour of Flanders in the sprint ahead of Dylan Van Baarle and Frenchman Valentin Madouas after gritting his teeth for a long time in the face of repeated attacks from Tadej Pogacar.

Fourth after being locked up in the sprint, the Slovenian as usual tried to settle the race on his own several tens of kilometers and a few “mountains” from the finish.

Pogacar caused a first selection in the second of the three ascents of Old Kwaremont.

Relayed by van der Poel, he continued skimming on the following climbs to keep only four other riders with him, van der Poel and Madouas as well as van Baarle and Briton Fred Wright who had anticipated.

For once, the Slovenian's lan didn't work.

But it came close.

MVDP not far from cracking

“I was on the verge of giving up on the top of the Paterberg,” admitted van der Poel.

"It's a shame that Pogacar is not on the podium, he was the strongest today".

At 27, the four-time cyclo-cross world champion now has two victories in a "monument", the name of the biggest one-day races.

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  • Cycling

  • Mathieu van der Poel

  • Tour of Flanders

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