No Amstel Gold Race, but what’s next for Mathieu van der Poel? Team boss Philip Roodhooft reveals the answer

And just like that, the team takes home another Monument win. Alpecin-Deceuninck boss Philip Roodhooft — whose brother Christoph, like the winner himself, also received a hefty fine for improper feeding — was understandably beaming in the center of the velodrome in Roubaix, where he looked back on the third consecutive victory his team leader, Mathieu van der Poel, had just secured in the Hell of the North.

First, that crash by Tadej Pogacar — undoubtedly the crucial moment of the race. "It’s hard to assess exactly what impact it had, but I think we can say Pogacar made an error. He took that corner too fast and it took him a long time to get going again, so it really wasn’t possible to wait. I feel sorry for him, but it was his mistake. It’s not like he crashed due to external circumstances, and Mathieu couldn’t stop either."

“That wasn’t even an option,” Roodhooft stated. “We didn’t have much choice, and there really wasn’t another option. By the end, Mathieu was running on empty too, because of the efforts and the headwind in the final stretch.” A nearly perfect race then. “I think, apart from Jasper Philipsen’s crash, we were largely spared from bad luck. But it was definitely more chaotic than in previous editions. Still, when you see how strong Mathieu was here, he was even stronger than last week. He also felt like he had fully recovered.”

And with that, Van der Poel adds yet another Monument to his already impressive resume. “Winning here three times in a row really says something. These are exceptional, extraordinary talents — just like Pogacar. And that’s what people love to see. We need to enjoy that.”

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Roodhooft on bottle-thrower: "One fool, just like last year"

One thing wasn’t perfect: someone threw a water bottle right at Van der Poel. “It’s up to the authorities to try and take action. And you hope there’s enough peer pressure among fans to avoid these kinds of situations. It’s unfortunate that it happens, and it’s dangerous too — you could crash because of it. It just doesn’t belong here. And let’s be clear: 99 percent of the people are just happy to witness this event, but something must be seriously wrong with you if you do something like that.”

“Maybe it’s a societal issue rather than just a cycling problem,” he wondered aloud. “But you should also look at it from the other side: there are countless more people here who are just enjoying it. There’s always one fool, just like there was last year. But that’s nothing compared to all the people who are happy, and we shouldn’t give those idiots too much attention.”

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That attention is better directed at Van der Poel himself, who won’t be racing the Amstel Gold Race next week. “That’s not on the schedule. There’s going to be some mountain biking, but first — vacation. It’s well-deserved,” concluded the team boss.

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