Mathieu van der Poel Dominates Tour of Belgium Stage 1, Almost Hands Victory to Teammate Jasper Philipsen

Van der Poel’s mad dash had begun long ago. At 89 kilometers from the finish, he was already on the attack, with his sprinter. At 60 terminals from the goal, he created a new selection, without him this time. Then 9 km from the end, he was still at the front, to pocket eight of the nine bonus seconds at stake in the “golden kilometer”. Caught 2,500 meters from the line, “MVDP” therefore found the strength to play pilot fish brilliantly. Fabulous.

Philipsen “is more than a sprinter”

It is not only a question of the temperament of the wearer of the yellow jersey of the Tour de France 2021. The argument of Philipsen’s versatility is valid: “He is more than a sprinter. He is even stronger after a hard race, as we saw in Paris-Roubaix (Van der Poel 1st, his teammate 2nd, editor’s note). This allows him to approach the final a little fresher than the other sprinters. When he arrived in the team, I didn’t have too much contact with him. But we got to know each other.” And it gives this sacred duo.

The two men occupy the first two places in the general classification, two seconds apart, the leader’s jersey being on the shoulders of the Belgian. They have four stages left to perfect their condition for the Tour de France (July 1-23). A Great Loop crossed – and not even entirely – like a ghost by Van der Poel last year, in the wake of a busy Giro. It’s a safe bet that he will be more lively this year, from the start in Bilbao.