"These little things can make a big difference psychologically" - Cancellara argues that Mathieu van der Poel suffered meaningful blow at E3 Saxo Classic

Mathieu van der Poel has dealt a big blow at Milano-Sanremo where he bounced back to great form to take a great win. At the E3 Saxo Classic his aggressive stance didn't reward him however, as he rode into second place after being outsprinted by Wout van Aert.

"In Wout van Aert, Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogacar we have three amazing riders, all in different ways, and they are bringing so much value to the Classics," Fabian Cancellara said in a column for Cyclingnews. "My conclusion is that E3 was interesting to a certain point, then it became boring, then it became interesting again, then boring, and then it was a nice sprint. Since it was so intense in the middle part, there were no big fireworks at the end, but it was still quite special to see three riders like that up there on that level."

Cancellara, a three time winner of the Belgian classic, has understood that the battle in the Tour des Flandres should be between the podium of the E3 Saxo Classic. And as has become known in many of the sprints they have battled, the Dutchman's advantage comes when the speeds are low.

"Mathieu cannot go with the biggest gears. Where he's at his best is when it starts from a lower speed, with low gears, and then he accelerates like hell. No one can match his change of pace from a low speed. We saw this at the Cyclocross World Championships recently," the Swissman detailed.

However Cancellara believes that sprint held higher meaning than a simple defeat. "What was also interesting to me was that Van der Poel gave up in the sprint. OK, you cannot call it giving up, but he had to sit up, shake his head, and watch Van Aert celebrate. Let me tell you, these little things can make a big difference psychologically," he concluded.