{"id":204798,"date":"2026-03-02T08:18:53","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T08:18:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=204798"},"modified":"2026-03-02T15:09:38","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T15:09:38","slug":"van-der-poel-powers-to-omloop-nieuwsblad-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2026\/03\/02\/van-der-poel-powers-to-omloop-nieuwsblad-win\/","title":{"rendered":"Van der Poel Powers to Omloop Nieuwsblad Win With a Little Help from Papa"},"content":{"rendered":"

You know it\u2019s going to happen, it\u2019s as certain as death and taxes, but when it happens exactly the way you expected it, it\u2019s still one of the most impressive sights in all sports. I\u2019m talking about Mathieu van der Poel switching into high gear, attacking the course and pulling away for a solo win in a cyclocross race, a Grand Tour stage or a spring Classic.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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A father\u2019s helping shout<\/strong><\/h2>\n

That\u2019s exactly what Alpecin\u2013Premier Tech\u2019s superstar did in Saturday\u2019s Omloop Nieuwsblad late in the race \u2013 but it wasn\u2019t exactly as expected. To hear him tell it, van der Poel made his winning move without trying. \u201cI didn’t see what happened on the Muur [1.1 km @ 7.3% with ramps up to 19.8%],\u201d he explained. \u201cWhen I reached the top, I noticed I had a gap. I was mainly focused on riding as focused as possible, because it was incredibly slippery on the cobblestones. I heard what my father shouted after the Muur, that I had 16 seconds. That was important because I didn’t know my lead. It was also nice to have a tailwind to the finish because the weather had been bad and windy all day.\u201d<\/p>\n

His domination also looked as effortless as he made it sound. The only time van der Poel looked like he was working hard was when he avoided Rick Pluimers (Tudor Pro Cycling), who had crashed in a curve directly in front of him on the Molenberg climb, by unclipping a foot and pulling off an amazing slalom move in a very limited space. From there, he accelerated away from the peloton, taking with him Florian Vermeersch\u00a0(UAE Team Emirates\u2013XRG) and Tim van Dijke (Red Bull\u2013BORA\u2013hansgrohe).<\/p>\n

\u201cHow I stayed upright on the Molenberg? I don’t know myself,\u201d he said. \u201cI couldn’t really avoid that Tudor rider, so I half-ran over him with one foot out of my pedal. I hope I didn’t hurt him too much. Luckily, I found my pedal again quickly, and at the top, I got back to Florian, who was really strong today as well. That was the decisive moment in the race. I didn\u2019t see what happened behind me, but I assume it was total chaos there [because] there was immediately a big gap.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was<\/em> the decisive moment. From that point, the three riders rode well together, gradually increasing their lead over the peloton, which took its time getting organised for a chase. There were reasons for that. As the three riders made their break, there were groups of riders strewn out over the course behind them, due to the many crashes on the wet roads and cobbles and the crosswinds, which blew in gusts up to 35 kph.<\/p>\n

The attack on the Muur<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Van der Poel and his two fellow travellers made their break about 43 km from the finish. They caught the three riders left from the original six-rider breakaway at 42 km, creating another six-rider lead group. At 38 km, their lead over the chasing group had grown to 1 minute. The final move came on the Muur, when van der Poel accelerated and dropped the three breakaway riders at the foot of the ascent and rode away from Vermeersch and van Dijke on a steep cobbled section.<\/p>\n

When he came off the Muur, his lead over the pair was 18 seconds. At the finish, he had 22 seconds on van Dijke, with Vermeersch in third at 24 seconds. Christophe Laporte (Visma\u2013Lease a Bike) was the best of the rest, crossing the line 53 seconds adrift, little consolation for the absence of teammate Wout van Aert, who fell ill during the week and was scratched from the race 48 hours before it kicked off.<\/p>\n

All the kudos belong, once again, to the astonishing van der Poel, who combines power and bike handling better than anyone in the sport. \u201cThis was a goal for us as a team because we had never won Omloop before. It feels really good that I can win straight away on my first attempt. I\u2019m really happy \u2013 and the team is too \u2013because this one wasn\u2019t on our list [of wins] yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

He went out of his way to praise Vermeersch, who contributed a lot of effort to making the break work. \u201cI’ve known Florian for a long time and have a lot of respect for him, even more so after today,\u201d van der Poel said. \u201cHe always rides to win, which is great to see. He’s also rewarded with a podium finish after being a driving force in the breakaway.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Zobrazit p\u0159\u00edsp\u011bvek na Instagramu<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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P\u0159\u00edsp\u011bvek sd\u00edlen\u00fd Omloop Nieuwsblad (@omloopnieuwsblad)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n