The Dutchman of the Alpecin team becomes only the third runner in history to achieve such a consecutive triple in northern hell after the French Octave Lapize between 1909 and 1911 and the Italian Francesco Moser between 1978 and 1980. 30 years old, the grandson of Raymond Poulidor won at the end of a new man’s new man fight between the two best runners generation.
The duel changed when Pogacar, who participated for the first time in the Queen of the Classics, went to the fault 37 km from the finish, making a all-right in a right turn in the paved sector of Pont-Thibault, while the two men made the race in mind, far ahead of the others. Leaving with a new bike and a 20-second deficit, the world champion then embarked on a frantic chase. The gap came down for a moment to 12 seconds.
But the Dutchman, more technical on cobblestones he masters perfection, managed to regain the upper hand, taking advantage of a new change of bike from his Pogacar to take off. Despite a final fright on puncture, also forcing him to change bikes, Van der Poel resumed his walk forward in front of a pogacar at the end of the roll to raise his arms in the André-Pétrieux velodrome, crossing the line with three raised fingers. After Milan-Sanremo, which he won for the second time in March, and the Tour of Flanders, where Pogacar took his revenge last Sunday, it is the eighth victory in a monument for the Dutchman who returns to the height of Pogacar in the quest for the biggest classics on the calendar.
The Danish Mads Pedersen, who had dropped out on puncture, took third place by beating the Belgians Wout Van Aert and Florian Vermeersch, the other two members of a first group of pursuers, relegated to 2:11 of the winner.
