Mathieu van der Poel wins Super 8 Classic thanks to Gianni Vermeersch's contribution: "He certainly has a fifty percent share in this victory"

Mathieu van der Poel won the Super 8 Classic today in a sprint of a small group. It was his first victory in his fresh rainbow jersey from Glasgow.

Van der Poel was part of a leading group of six in the flat final kilometers, including his teammate Gianni Vermeersch. "The plan was to sit with the two of us after the hill zone. He certainly has a fifty percent share in this victory. I have to thank him very much for that."

Behind the leading group, the peloton continued to put pressure. The gap from the pursuers was never greater than a minute. "We had to keep accelerating. I have ridden here before and even then I left after the hill zone, but we were always caught back. But we were away with a strong group, with quite a few fast riders. And we all had the same goal."

"There was good cooperation, actually without consultation. Everyone had the same idea: ride as fast as possible and then try to play the game at the end. As I said, my big advantage was that Gianni was there."