It was a hotly contested finale of Tour des Flandres, as Mathieu van der Poel and
Tadej Pogacar lost the lead they had built after the Oude Kwaremont over
Dylan van Baarle and Valentin Madouas. The Slovenian ended up being the member of the group that did not feature on the podium, and was visibly angry crossing the line, as he lifted his arms from the handlebars unsatisfied with how the race panned out.
New footage emerged now from the finale, more specifically from the aftermath of the sprint. Tadej Pogacar and Dylan van Baarle entered a verbal altercation, after the chaotic sprint saw the Slovenian slightly blocked against the Dutch and Madouas. In the heat of the moment it was possible to hear the two-time Tour de France champion say 'fuck you', in what was a quick dialogue before both riders went their separate, ways.
In a interview yesterday, Pogacar had said "In the moments immediately following the race, I was not happy, because I was not able to make the sprint as I was closed, but I know well that in cycling this can happen: sometimes you have a clear path, other times you do not find the necessary space. I wasn’t mad at anyone, I was just frustrated with myself."
The Slovenian was making his debut in the race, and was a marking figure as his flurry of attacks over the many bergs split the race into several groups, which saw him in contention for the win.