"Mathieu said his shoulder was hurting" - Van der Poel's Flanders crash may have damaged victory chances

Mathieu van der Poel was reportedly ill a few days before the Tour of Flanders, and during the race he suffered a crash before the cobbled sectors. Whilst the Dutchman showed his best level, it was understandable that he couldn't match a soaring Tadej Pogacar on the Flandrien bergs. However, how much did the crash actually affect the outcome of the race?

"That definitely takes its toll. I'm afraid it cost a few percent. We intended to get Mathieu well-positioned at the Oude Kwaremont, which we managed to do. But that's racing," teammate Gianni Vermeersch said in words to In de Leiderstrui.

With 126 kilometers to the finish line van der Poel, as well as a few more Alpecin-Deceuninck teammates, Tim Wellens and John Degenkolb - among others - hit the deck at high speed. The former World Champion quickly got up and back on his bike, but he was not fully unscathed from the fall that also saw him having to close a 45-second gap back to the peloton.

"Mathieu said his shoulder was hurting. Understandably, this had an impact," Vermeersch argued. "It takes its toll when you have to make such an effort at that point in the race. I'm not saying he would have definitely won without that crash, but it must have had an influence".

In a race that was then raced to the limit for over an hour over many of the course's climbs, Tadej Pogacar eventually managed to crack the Belgian's teammate whilst van der Poel was left fighting for a spot on the podium. However next week in Roubaix, the balance switches away from Pogacar as the cobbled sectors won't have gradients where he can as easily make the difference. Vermeersch should once again be a key domestique for van der Poel and also Jasper Philipsen, following two years of good results himself.