Mathieu van der Poel: "I am absolutely ready for Paris-Roubaix!"

Mathieu van der Poel has ridden Scheldeprijs with Alpecin-Deceuninck and helped towards the team's success. Jasper Philipsen sprinted to the victory whilst the Dutchman used the race as preparation for Paris-Roubaix.

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“I saw that things were nervous in the final, partly because the front riders still had to be caught up, so I didn't want to take any risks. That's why I decided to take the early turns and it worked out well," van der Poel told Het Nieuwsblad at the end of Scheldeprijs. "I absolutely did not want to take any risks towards Sunday, so I pulled over two kilometers from the finish.”

Van der Poel's work was very valuable as the chaotic bunch sprint saw the likes of Fabio Jakobsen and Caleb Ewan out of contention for the sprint. He had Ramon Sinkeldam and Jonas Rickaert in his wheel at the time and was a big key of Alpecin's leadout. As the Belgian soared to victory, it concluded a successful team job.

“It was definitely the best choice to start. A 200 km race with a strong team is better preparation than a training ride. I always found the gap between the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix difficult, so this Wednesday race was ideal," he detailed. "My feeling was pretty good. I felt really good in the race. The team did a fantastic job and we actually always stayed out of trouble. I am absolutely ready for Paris-Roubaix!”

Van der Poel also commented on a rather unusual incident during the race, when he was hit by bird poop halfway through the race. “Suddenly I felt that a bird had shit on my helmet. My helmet was completely full. I had never experienced this. Fortunately, only my helmet was hit, otherwise I would have to take a shower after the race," he concluded.