Wout Van Aert made it a point of honor to beat his Dutch rival Mathieu van der Poel. © Photo News
Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) was angry with Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) for his attitude in the final at Gand-Wevelgem (WorldTour) on Sunday. "He preferred to see me lose rather than win himself", railed the vice-world champion.
Four men took advantage of their rivalry to battle for victory in the sprint, ultimately going to Dane Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo). After setting a high pace in the last kilometers, Wout van Aert reacted to each attack, except the last one two miles from the finish. Van der Poel did not want to collaborate to come back to the four fugitives. "He surely forgets that I already have a lot of victories under my belt and that I was not going to plug every hole either," said Wout van Aert. "I did it a few times, and each time he jumped in my wheel. He probably thought I had a chance in the sprint, but in the end we both got nothing."
Already rivals in the plowed cyclocross, the duel between the two men continues on the road. "It's a bit low to say that I drove so that he lost," reacted the Dutchman. "I rode hard, I also blocked a few times. But at one point, I couldn't stand behind Pedersen's group. It was a bit of a lottery". Wout van Aert finished 8th ahead of van der Poel 9th, before a probable revenge at the Tour of Flanders next Sunday.
Van der Poel: “I did not drive to make him lose”
The rivalry between the two big favorites meant that the 82nd edition ended with a four-man sprint without them. At the end of the race, Van Aert attacked Van der Poel, who responded to the attacks of the Belgian rider.
“Our lead group was a little too big to stick together until the end. It was sort of a gamble. I kept an eye out for some of the men who posed the greatest danger to me. Apparently, this was not very popular with some of them. When Wout attacked, I counterattacked. After all, he was one of the best runners in the group. I did not drive to make him lose. I did my own race to win. I missed Gianni Vermeersch in the finale. He fell. If he had stayed in the breakaway, I would have run more comfortable. In the sprint, I didn't have much left, ”said Van der Poel.
“I did my real sprint when I started chasing the four attacking men in the final. It was all or nothing then. I also knew that when I had closed the gap they would come out from behind my back and attack again. ” “Sunday at the Tour of Flanders will be a very difficult race to win anyway, but I built up a lot of confidence during this Gand-Wevelgem. I also wanted to win this race, even though Wout has a different opinion ”, concluded the Dutchman.
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