Van der Poel wins in Geraardsbergen despite ‘not the best legs’

“I didn't have the best legs, but I didn’t crack either,” Van der Poel reflected after outsprinting Arnaud De Lie and Tim Wellens in a long, draining sprint on the Vesten. “These are exactly the kind of efforts I need right now. Going deep for a long time is the best way to work towards top shape. I’ll still have to improve for the Worlds, but that’s why I’m here.”

Van der Poel and his Alpecin–Deceuninck teammates forced the pace early, with Tibor Del Grosso joining the day’s moves. The world champion then attacked from distance on the final lap, only to be reeled in over the Muur van Geraardsbergen. “I thought that might be it when they caught me the first time,” he admitted. “But I was able to reset, and luckily I still had enough left in the tank for the finale.”

When the sprint came, De Lie opened long, but Van der Poel had the strength to come around in the final metres. “At a finish like this you know it’s going to hurt. Arnaud made it a long sprint, and I just had enough power to win,” he said.

The win moves Van der Poel to within one second of De Lie in the overall standings, though he downplayed the classification battle. “I’ll give it a try, but it's hard to carry the weight of this race. Tomorrow can be tricky and Sunday will be hard. But the main goal was to win a stage here. The rest is a bonus.”

De Lie accepted defeat with pragmatism. “Beating Mathieu here is very difficult,” the Belgian admitted. “If I sprinted against him 30 times, I might win twice. But I’m happy with my feeling, my mindset is good. I feel the love for the bike again.”

For Van der Poel, the Renewi Tour is less about jerseys and more about finding the rhythm again. With the MTB World Championships looming on 14 September, the Dutchman views every demanding effort as preparation. “I’m definitely not at my maximum,” he said. “I still need to improve, but that’s exactly what this race is for.”