“I especially hope to be outstanding next week” - Mathieu van der Poel hoping to perform well ahead of the Ronde van Vlaanderen

After playing a vital role in Jasper Philipsen’s victory at Milano-Sanremo last weekend, Mathieu van der Poel is hoping to pick up a few strong results himself this week ahead of his next Monument at the Ronde van Vlaanderen.

The Dutchman is set to race both the E3 Saxo Classic and Gent-Wevelgem this weekend as part of the Flemish ‘Holy Week’ in his build up towards De Ronde at the end of the month. This will be the first time that he will race against his rival Wout van Aert on the road this season, having already faced each other on the cyclocross field earlier in the year.

When asked ahead of the E3 Saxo Classic about his form after last weekend and going into this hard block of racing, Van der Poel said in an interview with WielerFlits that “whether I was outstanding in Milano-Sanremo? That's saying a lot, but I was good. I especially hope to be outstanding next week”.

On his strategy for the race, he went on to say “we will try to compete hard, just like last year, when it was very difficult. E3 is ideal for racing. But after the final it will still be a long time to get here in Harelbeke. Every team knows that you have to sit at the front. We'll try that again. It is often better to take the initiative yourself than to wait for others”.