Van der Poel finds Philipsen-matter "easy to judge afterwards" and praises Pedersen: "Suffered tremendously"

"Very little, if I'm honest," Van der Poel immediately set the tone with a laugh when asked about the sprint against Mads Pedersen. "I really suffered a lot today. The second time up the Kemmel I was almost dropped by Mads, and the last time I was just trying to hold onto his wheel. So, the strongest rider has won."

A neat observation, followed by the question: why did Van der Poel keep pushing when he had Jasper Philipsen in the peloton behind as a plan B? "At some point, you have to make a decision. As a world champion, you have to race for it in that situation. After all, Jasper didn't win the sprint, so it's easy to judge the situation afterward. In the situation I was in, I had to try."

The fact that Van der Poel felt his legs having a hard time on Sunday was not apparent in the echelons on De Moeren, the first time up the Kemmel, or on the plugstreets. "It was grueling. I definitely carried a bit of Friday's race into today. But Mads participated in that race too, so it's no excuse. The strongest rider simply won today. I definitely didn't have the legs I had on Friday and had to really dig deep and force myself to keep going at times."

So, do we jot Mads Pedersen down as a favorite for the Tour of Flanders? Van der Poel nods. "Mads was already a big favorite for the Tour of Flanders before this victory, he's always someone to keep in mind. He showed today that he's very strong. The fact that he was the strongest is a pity because I would have liked to win. But it's easier to accept when someone else is stronger. I now need a few days to recover from Friday and today. I really suffered today. I'm pretty done."