"Being good isn't enough" - Fabian Cancellara once ruled the cobbles, and knows how much it takes Mathieu van der Poel to do the same

Mathieu van der Poel on his third consecutive E3 Saxo Classic this Friday and has matched Fabian Cancellara, who won the same race in 2010, 2011 and 2013. Although the Belgian classic is extremely difficult, part of racing the cobbled classics comes down to tactics, positioning and ultimately luck. The Swiss rider acknowledges that just being the strongest on the bike is far from being enough to win such races.

In the middle of the main and final cobbled classics, the insight of riders such as Cancellara and his long-time rival Tom Boonen are worth gold. Just over a decade ago, the Swiss rider - now manager of Tudor Pro Cycling Team - was in a similar role to that of van der Poel, having few riders who could challenge him at his best. This helped him achieve many high-level victories throughout several spring campaigns, but he argues that ultimately most wins are just numbers and they do not decide who is the better rider.

"It does change something for you journalists, for the history books, for me, but ultimately that doesn't mean he has become better," Cancellara said in words to L'Équipe. The Swiss rider has nothing but praise for van der Poel, winner of several editions of Milano-Sanremo, Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix - whilst also winning many of the non-monument classics in the calendar as well.

"He is taking cycling to a higher level. It is a sporting achievement in any case; breaking a record always attracts attention". Whilst he is now matched often by Tadej Pogacar, the two continue to be above the competition in the one-day races during this time of year. But this is not easy, despite their physiological abilities.

"When there is strong dominance, it looks easy from the outside, but being good isn't enough. It is a confluence of circumstances," he concluded.