"People think it happens automatically, but he really dominated": Greg Van Avermaet and Jan Bakelants praise Mathieu van der Poel's masterclass at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad

Mathieu van der Poel delivered another dominant performance to open the spring classics season at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. It was one of the very few Belgian spring classics he had never participated in, and he only needed one opportunity to add it to his palmarès.

The race broke open on the Molenberg, where van der Poel narrowly avoided disaster. Riding in second position, Rick Pluimers lost his grip and crashed right in front of him. Van der Poel managed to stay on his bike despite having to make a quick evasive maneuver.

"That is always a dangerous point," Greg Van Avermaet explained to Wieler Revue. "With this weather, you know that you should not apply full power immediately. Pluimers was probably not thinking about that. It is great how Mathieu stays upright, because he steers to the right, and it is even more slippery there."

Van Avermaet, the 2016 Olympic champion, explored the route with van der Poel earlier in the week. He mentioned that they discussed the slippery roads, though he noted that finding the right racing line is something van der Poel always pays close attention to.

Looking at the race itself, Van Avermaet was highly impressed by his training partner's condition. "It was certainly impressive again, because it is always a matter of waiting to see how you restart your season," Van Avermaet noted. "People think it happens automatically, but he really dominated. He is also more than sharp enough for this time of the year. You can see that very well in his legs and backside."

Later in the race, van der Poel made his decisive move on the famous Muur van Geraardsbergen. Fellow analyst Jan Bakelants admitted he did not expect the Dutch rider to drop Florian Vermeersch quite so easily on the steep climb.

"Although you saw him shining in the twenty kilometers before that," Bakelants observed. "It was not very surprising. On the Muur, I did not have the idea that he attacked. He was surprised that he had a ten-meter gap and only then did he really start riding full gas."

Bakelants also argued he sees no drop in form compared to van der Poel's recent winter successes. "When I see Van der Poel, I see a total athlete," Bakelants concluded. "Although I do not see that he is sharper or less sharp than last month during the cyclocross World Championships. We mainly saw a Van der Poel who easily rode at the front. This was in line with expectations."