"He had to sacrifice Søren Kragh Andersen there" - Johan Bruyneel critical of Mathieu van der Poel's slow start at Tour of Flanders

Right at the beginning of last Sunday's Tour of Flanders, Mathieu van der Poel and Alpecin-Deceuninck were caught out at the back of the peloton and required a desperate chase to get back into the race. In the opinion of Johan Bruyneel this may have been decisive.

"Two-time winner Van der Poel was sleeping in the back and missed the battle," said Bruyneel on the podcast The Move. "It took a lot of energy and also caused stress. The most important thing, however, is that he had to sacrifice Søren Kragh Andersen there. He needed him in the final, that could have made a difference."

Bruyneel's podcast partner, George Hincapie agrees that had van der Poel not exerted that needless early energy, maybe things could have been different in the final. "Without those moments, he could have been closer to Pogacar."

"It just shouldn't happen to a former winner," Hincapie continues. "You've got the stress, he probably hasn't eaten. And that's exactly what the others in the front are doing at that moment. That all adds up,” agrees Bruyneel.