Van der Poel wins in Flanders
Pogacar rages after defeat in the giant duel
4/3/2022, 6:08 p.m
Tour winner Tadej Pogacar drives the Tour of Flanders for the first time. He tries everything, keeps attacking and gets rid of almost all pursuers. Only Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel always stays by his side. In a spectacular sprint, he takes the win and Pogacar rages.
Tadej Pogacar threw his arms up in anger, the two-time Tour champion scolded his wildly cheering rival Mathieu van der Poel after the lost giant duel. After a thrilling duel between the top stars, Pogacar narrowly missed out on the near triumph on his first Tour of Flanders in a controversial final. Instead, victory in the spectacular Belgian classic went to the big favorite van der Poel for the second time after 2020.
“I’ve worked so hard for this race. It’s incredible,” said van der Poel. After 272.5 km between Antwerp and Oudenaarde, the Dutchman prevailed in front of his compatriot Dylan van Baarle (Ineos-Grenadiers) and Valentin Madouas from France (Groupama-FDJ). Slovenia’s Pogacar (UAE Emirates), who had long dominated with van der Poel, emerged loser from the sprint poker down the stretch to finish fourth.
The twelve German starters around hopeful Nils Politt (Cologne/Bora-hansgrohe) had nothing to do with the decision, but showed an active race as helpers and in escape groups. The only German winners of the Tour of Flanders remain Rudi Altig (1964) and Steffen Wesemann (2004).
Canter in group
For the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, spectators were allowed to gather on the side of the road again at the largest Belgian cycle race. The fans came in droves, the “Ronde” became a well-known folk festival in mostly sunny but cool weather – only the absence of Belgium’s top star Wout van Aert caused a little disillusionment with the hosts.
For a long time, an escape group determined what happened, which also included Cottbuser Max Kanter (Movistar). In the increasing momentum over the last 100 kilometers, however, the lead shrank steadily. The pressure from the peloton was too great for a surprise win. Politt dared his luck from the leading group. The Tour stage winner attacked on the Kanarienberg, the tenth of the 18 legendary slipways of the day, around 70 km before the finish. The attempt failed. Politt was caught up quickly – and shortly afterwards had to bury all hopes of victory.
Two more classics in April
On the second of three crossings over the famous Oude Kwaremont, Pogacar threw on the turbo. Only a few drivers were able to follow the brutal increase in speed, Politt was not one of them. Pogacar used the following crisp climbs for further attacks and thus reduced the competition. On the last ascent in Paterberg, only van der Poel was at his side.
The giant duel came to a hotly debated end on the home straight. Instead of forcing the decision early on, van der Poel reduced the speed to almost walking pace. Pogacar, compared to the Dutchman with disadvantages in the sprint, hesitated for his part. The pursuers used the banter and caught up, the top stars threatened to have gambled, but ultimately van der Poel prevailed.
The Tour of Flanders, which was held for the first time in 1913, is the cobblestone highlight of spring, alongside the Paris-Roubaix planned for April 17th. The second Belgian monument – Liège-Bastogne-Liège – forms the traditional conclusion of the great one-day classics of the first half of the year on April 24th.