Tom Boonen complements both Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel after first cobblestones displays: "He sprinted to victory with ease, which is certainly impressive"

Wout van Aert rode the Opening Weekend and Mathieu van der Poel rode Le Samyn. It's hard to argue which one gathered the most attention due to the very different results, but classics legend Tom Boonen sees good signs in both now less than one month away from the Tour of Flanders.

"I think the competition knew what time it was when they heard that Mathieu was at the start. I think Mathieu travelled to Belgium without pressure," Boonen said to Sporza.

He was convinced the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider would leave a mark, and his sprint triumph against Paul Magnier did the job. "You could see that from the way he raced. He showed himself, but didn't show too much. But in the end he sprinted to victory with ease, which is certainly impressive".

Van der Poel will now race Tirreno-Adriatico to prime his form for the classics (after having finished an altitude camp), and on the complete opposite side of the spectrum, van Aert will now go to altitude after a block of racing. Both have very different ways of preparing for the two monuments, and van Aert is going with last year's formula - which he didn't get to put to use in Flanders or Roubaix as he was injured.

"When I saw Wout racing in Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, he looked good to me. He pulled hard a few times and caused a lot of riders problems. I do believe that he will be good towards the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix," Boonen argued.

Jan Bakelants in the meantime shared his thoughts on the upcoming Strade Bianche, which will not have neither of them, but will put on display their big rival for Flanders: Tadej Pogacar. "'It is a race that has two faces. On the beautiful gravel roads, bad luck plays a major role and Tadej also has to take that into account. If he gets bad luck at a bad time, his race could also become a lot more difficult".

The Belgian also believes the women's race will provide a big spectacle, featuring many of the world's best in Tuscany. "We can expect a nice duel between Demi Vollering and Anna van der Breggen. In Valencia Demi was still a bit stronger, but I expect Anna to be in better shape now. It will be good for the excitement in women's cycling if Anna can quickly reach the level of Demi and Lotte".