Van der Poel has 'no idea' how he avoided Molenberg crash at Omloop

Mathieu van der Poel’s bike handling skills stood him in good stead as he took evasive action on the Molenberg before joining the decisive move en route to a clear solo triumph at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.

When Rick Pluimers (Tudor) slipped out in front of him at the foot of the narrow climb, Van der Poel was forced to unclip and put a foot down, but he quickly got moving again and zoomed across to attacker Florian Vermeersch (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) by the summit.

They were joined over the other side by Tim van Dijke (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) before picking up the remains of the early break. From there, the direction of travel was clear, with Van der Poel’s strength evident on every climb, and he eventually eased clear on the Muur van Geraardsbergen to take a resounding solo victory.

“I have no idea,” Van der Poel smiled when asked how he had avoided crashing on the Molenberg. “I want to say sorry to the rider of Tudor because I almost rode over his head, I think, but I had nowhere to go. I was unclipped, but luckily, I could find my pedal quite fast again. At the top I joined Florian, who was really strong today as well. In the end, that was the decisive moment of the race, I think.”

Van der Poel would ride away from his breakaway companions with striking ease on the Muur, opening a gap before the gradient bit and without even needing to lift himself from the saddle. It later emerged that Vermeersch had an issue with his gearing on the climb, but it’s unlikely that anything would have stopped this vintage of Van der Poel.

“No, I didn’t see it, I was just focused on myself,” said Van der Poel. “It was quite wet and slippery, so I was just trying to put the power down and on top I was alone. I didn’t know he had problems, I was just going full gas until the finish line.”

Van der Poel’s speed was such that his father Adrie’s attempt to hand him a bidon over the top of the Muur came to nothing, but the missed feed had no impact on the result. Adrie van der Poel won the Tour of Flanders 40 years ago over on the same finale over the Muur and Bosberg, and his son duly cruised to victory in Ninove on his first-ever appearance at Omloop.

“I don’t think it was a perfect or an ideal moment to take a bottle but from there on, it was not so long anymore, and I had enough drinks and food still with me, so I was ok,” Van der Poel said. “It was a goal for our team to win this race. We’ve never won it as a team, and for me to win on my first participation, it feels pretty good.”

Van der Poel only confirmed his participation in Omloop on Wednesday and he left the door open for a surprise participation in Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne on Sunday, where Alpecin-Premier Tech will look to complete an Opening Weekend double.

“We haven’t decided yet,” Van der Poel said. “We will do this in the bus on the way to the hotel, but there is a chance I will ride, yes.”