"They were very ungrateful roads to ride alone" - Mathieu van der Poel consolidates lead at Baloise Belgium Tour with stunning solo win

Mathieu van der Poel really asserted his dominance on stage 4 of the Baloise Belgium Tour, taking his first stage win of the race with a brilliant 36km solo attack.

"It was certainly not the intention to sit there alone. But it went very fast, everyone was on the limit," he admits in his post-stage interview. "The course was very difficult to control anyway. The team did that very well, but it became increasingly difficult. That's why I chose to go on the offensive."

After finishes of 6th, 2nd and 4th at the three previous stages, finally getting that previously elusive stage win delighted the 28-year-old. "They were very ungrateful roads to ride alone," he laughs referring to the roads in and around Durbuy. "I think my form is already very good after the altitude training last month."

Following his heroics, van der Poel now leads the general classification by 40 seconds ahead of the stage 3 winner, Søren Waerenskjold.