Mathieu van der Poel acknowledges difficulty ahead of Tour of Flanders: "Van Aert and Pogačar are both dangerous in their own way"

Mathieu van der Poel was the winner of the Tour of Flanders in both 2020 and 2022. He is one of the riders who will know best what to do this Sunday, however despite his great form and motivation, he will find very tough competition in Wout van Aert and Tadej Pogacar.

“Everyone has seen that Jumbo-Visma stands out. After what they have shown in recent weeks, it makes sense that they will be looked at. But that does not alter the fact that I also think that we should take the initiative when it is necessary," van der Poel said in the pre-race press conference this morning.

At the E3 Saxo Classic, after bouncing back to form at Milano-Sanremo, he proved to be in the right form to win big once again. He anticipated Jumbo-Visma's strategical moves and attacked the race hard twice and early, creating the winning move alongside van Aert and Pogacar - who joined another trio upfront, but later went up the road by themselves.

The trio stood apart at the clear strongest in what was the most important run-up race to Flanders. They were very evenly matched and the win came down to a sprint, won by the Belgian. “Van Aert and Pogačar are both dangerous in their own way. Tadej prefers to ride alone to the finish, he will try to ride us on the climb. Wout, on the other hand, is the most difficult rider in the sprint," he continues.

"In the past three editions, we always rode two to the finish in Oudenaarde. Entering alone would be something special, but that is not easy because after the Paterberg it is still a long way," van der Poel tells. The forecast is of a cross-headwind into town on Sunday, which won't benefit solo attackers.

The pressure isn't on as much for the Alpecin-Deceunink rider however who has won the first monument of the season. “If you have won a monument, it is always a bit easier afterwards. But that does not mean that I will start with less ambition," he assures. "Along the way in E3 I definitely felt with the best in the race and that's what I took with me. Although you cannot completely compare that race with the Ronde, which is a lot longer.”

Fatigue was in the past an important factor and something which the 28-year old hasn't managed properly. He's taken that experience this year however. He will have Soren Kragh Andersen too as a big weapon for the team in it's pursuit to take the victory.

“I have noticed in the past that I was usually slightly less in Paris-Roubaix than in the Tour of Flanders. I wanted to avoid that this year. On Sunday I completed one last really long training session, but the following days also had some longer trips on the menu with extra accelerations to be at my best in the Tour," he added,

"The last few days I naturally built in some rest, to keep the freshness. Now I feel that I am more 'race ready'," van der Poel concluded. "Last year it also worked with a slightly less broad base, but then the peak lasts just a little less long. In Roubaix the legs were already a bit less. Hopefully that will be different this year.”