"That fall indeed decides the entire race" - Thijs Zonneveld believes van der Poel and van Aert go into Tour of Flanders almost evenly matched
Cycling
The E3 Saxo Classic is the most important race ahead of the Tour of Flanders, where the riders find the same key ascents that they will in the second monument of the season. Here Mathieu van der Poel took a strong win, but he believes Wout van Aert was at the same level and lost because of the crash at the Paterberg.
"The proportions are the same as last year. It quickly became clear that Van der Poel was the best on the small, steep climbs, but he also had the upper hand on the flat, where Van Aert, as an excellent time trialist, is usually better," Zonneveld said in the Het Wiel podcast. "There is almost no other way to win E3 than simply being the strongest. For that you just have to go to the winners of the past ten years."
History has shown this to be a brutal race where riders need their top form to win. Van der Poel showed that exactly, riding into a superb triumph after attacking at the Paterberg to ride solo off the front. However the Dutch analyst points out that the World Champion was in charge of the race. "It is worrying that when Van der Poel enters the race, everything turns completely square at Visma | Lease a Bike. He takes control of the race every time, because he really uses his strength on the various climbs," he argues.
"Visma | Lease a Bike then stopped again to let some riders return, so that they would be in excess again and then let them ride away with the next climb in prospect. In this way they tried to put pressure on Van der Poel and Van Aert could serve as a watchdog. They initially absolutely wanted to avoid a hand-to-hand fight, but with that defensive behavior they were unable to beat Van der Poel in the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix last year," he says.
The team lacks Christophe Laporte who is currently ill, whilst neither Jan Tratnik or Dylan van Baarle showed the level that they traditionally have in the classics. This played a role in Visma's lack of early attacks which saw them win both classics in the Opening Weekend; but that may change in the upcoming races. Also, because he believes that van Aert could've matched van der Poel if he had not crashed at a key moment.
That fall indeed decides the entire race, but it is very interesting to study that. Van Aert and Visma | Lease a Bike constantly raced passively and gave the initiative to Van der Poel and it is all much more logical that it is Van Aert who crashes," he continues. "It is Van der Poel who set the race and Van Aert had to respond to him a fraction later each time, which meant that he was constantly pushed into oppression."
Van Aert put in an impressive effort to almost completely close the gap over the Oude Kwaremont and following kilometers, but ultimately exploded and rode to third on the day. He looks to be in a good position when it comes to his preparation for the monuments.
"He probably had so much adrenaline and good morale to overtake everyone, but if you are really sensible and you really want to ride in blocks, then he should have run with Matteo Jorgenson and Lidl-Trek," Zonneveld argues however, a flaw in van Aert's tactic on the day possibly. "They simply lived on two half-plans, but I do think that at Visma | Lease a Bike were shocked that Van der Poel drove away for another two minutes afterwards."
However whilst he thinks van der Poel has the edge for Flanders, he may not at Paris-Roubaix: "If you compare the different climbs with each other, you notice something. For example, the Stationsberg is less steep and Van Aert was able to answer Van der Poel's attack, while the Taaienberg is steep and Van Aert fell off there. So in Paris-Roubaix it will be more difficult for Van der Poel to drop Van Aert. It will be closer together there."
Read also
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
claps 1visitors 1
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- 🐐❤️Lozza09-11-2026
- This is such a black eye to women's professional cyclocross if this result remains. Marie Schreiber won this race fairly. This finish is not unlike others in cyclocross. Lots of moving around to get to the finish not to cut anyone off , but to generate a sprint on soft wide tires caked with mud and sand. This is not nearly the same as a road race between two riders sprinting to the finish on faster bikes and thinner firmer tires. The powers in charge need to use some common sense, reverse this result and remember this is Cyclocross not Road racing. Unbelievable. . .Zencycle09-11-2026
- Tis beyond your comprehension fine sir so best not to look on with blind eyes to THE GOATS greatness.
Brucegel09-11-2026 - McNulty winning was beneficial in ensuring the rainbow jersey would not remain winless
Front24209-11-2026 - Eccelente! That's 7 riders in total in Red Bull who come from the devo team, 8 if you include Lipo
Rafionain-Glas09-11-2026 - again, nothing is going to be resolved. it is a discussion board. I simply said I didn't see how MS impeded LBs sprint. the UCI doesn't care about my thoughts, and I am really not that emotionally invested in it.mij09-11-2026
- provoke change, lol. this is a discussion board. nothing is going to change by what I say here. just commenting that it didn't look like MS impeded Brand. beyond that not trying to go too deep.mij09-11-2026
- as excellent as maga rednecks chloe dygert (and quinn simmons)?Ketterechts09-11-2026
- so what i understand is: i left a comment calling out the endless author CVs for being an unnecessary flex of expertise, and you responded by lecturing me (and others) on discrimination and value systems. hats off to you. you definitely lost me!Ketterechts09-11-2026
- I just love the flood of Americans into the top ranks of world cycling. In addition to being studs on the bike, they all seem to be excellent emissaries for our country.Occam09-11-2026
Loading
It's always these two on the podium 😍 Since the start of 2023, Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert have shared the podium in five of the last six one-day races they raced against each other 🤯 📸 Getty Images
Write a comment