📸 This is how it’s done: Van der Poel receives gifts after E3 win—and hands some out himself to ecstatic fans

Mathieu van der Poel claimed an impressive victory in the E3 Saxo Classic on Friday. After the race, there was talk about a "fan" spitting at the Dutchman during his solo ride to Harelbeke, but on the flip side, plenty of heartwarming clips and photos emerged from West Flanders too.

Even before the start, Van der Poel was—as tradition goes—surprised by the organization of the WorldTour classic. At the E3 Saxo Classic, the previous year’s winner is traditionally gifted something special. Fabian Cancellara once received his body weight in wine, several foreign riders got crates of Belgian beer, and Greg Van Avermaet was presented with a BMC bike made of chocolate.

This time, it was Van der Poel’s turn as the 2024 winner. “We tapped into a very special source to find out what Mathieu likes, and went from there,” the organization said. That source? His girlfriend Roxanne. Van der Poel was gifted personalized golf balls and a voucher for a Michelin-starred dinner at Boury.

Van der Poel shares his beer, Pedersen and Ganna help themselves

Then it was time for the 2025 edition of the E3 Saxo Classic—which Van der Poel won again. That means he can look forward to another surprise gift in 2026. On the podium, he received a large glass of Kwaremont beer, which he—unlike Mads Pedersen and Filippo Ganna—did not drink. Instead, Van der Poel handed the big glass to a few overjoyed fans and smiled as they happily drank it. That’s one way to handle things too, Mr. Spitter. 😉

Read more below the videos!

Afterwards, the Dutchman headed back to the team hotel, where a special dessert was prepared. In honor of Alpecin-Deceuninck's 200th win, Van der Poel received a Lotus cheesecake. No doubt, it tasted like victory!

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