A week after Mathieu van der Poel said that we live in the era of Tadej Pogacar, he himself gave the best reason to question that claim on Sunday. Because after Van der Poel single-handedly turned onto the vélodrome in Roubaix on Sunday and won his second monument of this year (and fourth in total), it is justified to wonder aloud: are we not living in the era of Mathieu of der Pool?
Van der Poel is only the fourth rider to manage to win both Milan-Sanremo and Paris-Roubaix in the same year, after the Belgian Cyrille Van Hauwaert (1908), the Irish Sean Kelly (1986) and the German John Degenkolb (2015). ). With his four victories in the five biggest one-day races in cycling, Van der Poel also equaled Hennie Kuiper and Jan Raas as the best Dutch classic riders. “I don’t really think about it, but I’m just good at one-day races and I focus on that, so the monuments suit me,” said Van der Poel after Paris-Roubaix.
It is no surprise this year to see Van der Poel compete for the win in the classics. In Milan-Sanremo he already showed that he was in great shape with a special attack on the Poggio and subsequent victory. In the races where he then started, he competed deep into the final for the win and was second twice (E3 Saxo Classic and Ronde van Vlaanderen). He drives fewer races than last year, Van der Poel said on Sunday. “That makes me stronger in the competitions that matter to me.”
The 28-year-old Dutchman also takes a different approach to training sessions and the division of his season. For example, last Wednesday he competed for the first time in the Scheldeprijs, a flat course for sprinters where he normally has nothing to do. But he wanted to keep his match rhythm and approached the match like training, Van der Poel said. Every now and then he just turned on, and then he flew past the pack in an instant, wrote ADjournalist Thijs Zonneveld, who participated in the Scheldeprijs.
Brilliant ideas
Van der Poel is the rider with the most brilliant ideas of the current peloton, the man who always has a plan with which he manages to surprise his opponents (and the crowd that has gathered). He had also thought carefully about how he wanted to ride the final on Sunday, if it had come to that. “Last time I had to sprint here [in 2021, na een dag vol regen modder, red.] I turned on too late and got trapped. So I wanted to start earlier this time.”
That was not necessary at all this Sunday. Van der Poel had luck on his side when on one of the toughest cobblestone sections, Carrfour de l’Arbre, shortly after Van Aert and he had broken away from the rest, the Belgian had a puncture. After that there were still 15 lonely kilometers to drive, but after narrowly avoiding a road barrier, Van der Poel’s victory was no longer in danger.
He has now, like Pogacar, won three of the five monuments. After the Slovenian had won the Tour of Flanders last week, and Van der Poel had dropped in the final, Pogacar’s teammate Sjoerd Bax called him “a alien”. That is not Van der Poel, says his Belgian teammate Jasper Philipsen, who finished second in Roubaix. “He is human, but a super strong rider. One of the best in the world.” For Van der Poel they have a different nickname at Alpécin-Deceuninck, says Jonas Rickaert, another Belgian teammate. “I have long called him the monument man. It is incredible that he can win two in one year.”
Quintet
Now that Pogacar and Van der Poel are both on three out of five, the question is whether they can complete the quintet. “I don’t know anymore,” says Rickaert. “But Mathieu continues to surprise everyone. I do think he has the capabilities, so I think he is capable of doing that.”
This is also where the differences between Van der Poel and Pogacar become apparent: the Slovenian, also a good climber and tour rider, has won the two monuments where climbers usually have the best chance – Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Tour of Lombardy –, the Dutchman precisely the monuments – Milan-Sanremo and Paris-Roubaix – that can be won by the heavier, more explosive riders. Only the Tour of Flanders they both won.
There are simply three riders who currently stand out, says Philipsen when asked about Van der Poel’s dominance. “If one of these three men goes, then you know they have something extra”, with which he also refers to Van Aert – who won Milan-Sanremo – in addition to Van der Poel and Pogacar.
The rest of the peloton looks up to the trio that currently dominates cycling, says Rickaert, “They are three huge clappers.” It is clear to him: this is the era of the ‘Big Three’. “It is a luxury to be able to cycle with those men.”