Mathieu van der Poel misses Top10 at Olympic Games - "When Remco went and no one reacted, I knew immediately that it was going to be very difficult"

Mathieu van der Poel knew the danger that the Belgian team posed for him at the Olympic Games. Whilst he was not put under serious pressure before the final circuit in Paris by his main rivals, he knew that Remco Evenepoel was a big source of danger and recognized his chance of winning were close to none after the Belgian made his move.

Daan Hoole helped control the breakaway throughout the day for the Netherlands and later on Dylan van Baarle also did some work. Van der Poel attacked as soon as the peloton entered the final circuit in Montmartre, initially only taking with him Wout van Aert. However, his attack wouldn't stick due to the lack of collaboration from other riders, and with 38 kilometers to go he saw the eventual winner go up the road with a storming attack.

"I actually thought the race was over there. We rode away with four or five men, all strong riders. We also had a nice gap, so I thought the race would be between us," he admitted in an interview with NOS. "But when we were caught again, Remco went at the right moment.”

“It was a difficult race. When Remco went and no one reacted, I knew immediately that it was going to be very difficult. I didn't necessarily go very deep into the red there. That wasn't too bad." But the victory was gone. With no radios, riders of many teams and no teammates, the final 30 kilometers were just pure chaos where he tried to be among the top groups but attacks left and right were too much for him.

“I had already said beforehand that he was one of the dangerous riders to let ride. Dylan [van Baarle] did well by keeping the gap as small as possible. I did everything or nothing for Montmartre one more time. I got Wout [van Aert] with me and he didn't ride of course, because Remco was in front. That's the race situation."

Van der Poel crossed the line in 12th place, behind the chasing group, a disappointing outcome for the World Champion that did show his best legs on the day but couldn't make the difference. "I think I was good, but it was just a very difficult race,"