"It’s pretty clear who was the strongest today. I wasn’t good enough" - Mathieu van der Poel makes no excuses after losing out to Tadej Pogacar at Tour of Flanders 2025

Mathieu van der Poel put up one hell of a fight at the 2025 Tour of Flanders on Sunday afternoon. Eventually though, event he Alpecin-Deceuninck leader had to admit to defeat to world champion Tadej Pogacar, who soloed to the 8th Monument win of his illustrious career.

Van der Poel had looked incredibly strong, repeatedly being the first rider to latch onto Pogacar's back wheel whenever the UAE Team Emirates - XRG leader attacked during the day. On the final ascent of the Oude Kwaremont however, Van der Poel's will was finally snapped by the Rainbow Jersey. Whilst Pogacar went on to take the solo win, Van der Poel was left fighting for the remainder of the podium, eventually coming home in 3rd after losing out to Mads Pedersen in the sprint from the chase behind.

"I was already pretty much at my limit from quite early on," Van der Poel admitted honestly in his post-race interview with Sporza afterwards, having actually been the victim of a crash relatively early on in the race. "Of course, a crash is not ideal and doesn't feel good. But the damage wasn't too bad. I was lucky. After that, we fought well as a team, and I did everything I could. That's why I'm happy with my 3rd place and the podium."

Classily, Van der Poel also isn't looking to the crash or anything else as a potential excuse, simply admitting defeat to the stronger rider on the day, something Pogacar did similarly when the roles were reversed at Milano-Sanremo recently. "I got pushed to the side just before the Kwaremont, and I had to come from far behind. Other than that, it wasn't too bad. The strongest rider was at the front, right? That's almost always the rider who reaches the top of the Kwaremont first," he explains. "It’s pretty clear who was the strongest today. I wasn’t good enough. Again, I never really felt great, and I was at my limit from far out. With experience and determination, I fought my way onto the podium."

As such, the wait for a record-breaking 4th Tour of Flanders win goes on for the Dutchman. "Everyone says the 4th win will come easily. But that’s what they thought about the previous guys with three victories too," he smiles. "Who knows, maybe it will stay at three, but I'm very proud of that."

And with attention now quickly turning to next Sunday and Paris-Roubaix, has Van der Poel suffered a mental blow with this defeat to Pogacar? "That’s a less intense race, although you need some luck there too," he concludes.