Mathieu van der Poel’s skills are always impressive but, during Classics season, they’re arguably at their best. The Dutch rider’s ability to avoid crashes is uncanny. Like he’s developed a Spidey sense along with his always impressive bike handling skills.
That sixth sense was on full display Saturday when van der Poel made his Omloop Het Nieuwsblad debut. His first appearance at the Opening Weekend Classic was not just memorable for the Dutchman’s win. But, after saying it was “hard to make a difference” at Omloop, his performance stood out for the manner in which he won.
As the peloton started up the cobbled Molenberg climb, it’s already treacherously steep pitch madeslick with rain, Florian Vermeersch attacked. As the group tried to hold on, a Tudor rider went down on the front. Van der Poel, right on his wheel, looked doomed.
Somehow, the Alpecin-Premier Tech rider managed to do sort of a one-legged hop over the downed rider, re-gain his pedals and, without losing too much momentum on the 10+ per cent grades, continue his chase.
“I have no idea” says van der Poel
“I have no idea,” van der Poel admitted, when asked how he dodged the rider in his post-race interview.
“I want to say sorry to the rider from Tudor becuase I almost rode over his head,” van der Poel added. “I had nowhere to go.”
Van der Poel would later drop Vermeersch and Tim van Dijke on the Muur, but admitis the race was mostly won on the Molenberg.
“Luckily I was able to find my pedal quite quickly again,” van der Poel said of how he managed to hold on and stay close enough Florian Vermeersch as the two went over the top of the Molenberg. “That was the decisive moment of the race, I think”