Tadej Pogacar delivered a sensational ride to win the Tour
of Flanders, cementing his number one status with a solo victory. Behind him,
Mads Pedersen put in a brilliant performance to finish second, outsprinting
Mathieu van der Poel, who had to settle for third.
Jasper Stuyven crossed the line in fifth and played a
pivotal role in setting up his Lidl–Trek teammate’s result.
Reflecting on the
race in a team press release, Stuyven shared his thoughts on the closing
kilometres and his tactical decisions.
“I had said I was up for trying to jump away at the end, but
with the headwind, I just couldn’t get away from the other three. So I decided
to keep the pace high — that would suit Mads better in a sprint against Mathieu
for the podium.
Stuyven's attempt to sprint for second in the final kilometre ultimately came up short, but he still found reasons to be positive and rightfully so.
“But I think the strongest rider was at the front. We fought
hard, and I felt like everyone had a rough patch on the various climbs, but
it’s hard to analyse everything right now. After the Paterberg, I definitely
wanted to do most of the work. I think I can head into next week with
confidence.”