In the absence of van Aert, for the reasons we know, all the Belgian chances rested on a bunch sprint. In the finale that Mathieu van der Poel blew up, we must however be honest and point out that, fortunately for us, the Italians rode at the head of the peloton to get back to the leading group, otherwise we would not have placed anyone on the podium and Merlier would never have become European champion. Aside from the two trains of sprinters, there was not many people left in the Belgian clan at this point in the race to control events. But it was one of our riders who won while Jonathan Milan, the transalpine sprinter for whom his teammates fought so hard, finished in 13th place. The pill must be damn hard to swallow on the other side of the Alps… So here is one more title in the bag of Sven Vanthourenhout who will leave his post in the wake of the World Cup. The communication of the Belgian federation before this Euro was judicious from the moment when the risk of flight had become significant. Clarifying the situation of the coach will have made it possible not to pollute the preparation of this continental meeting with extra-sporting matters.
quotation markVan der Poel’s thinness speaks volumes about his motivation for the World Cup.”
At this Euro, I was very impressed by Mathieu van der Poel’s thinness. He is extremely sharp and that says a lot about his desire to defend his title dearly in ten days at the Zurich World Championships. Getting down to such a low body fat percentage requires big sacrifices and iron discipline that is not possible to impose throughout the season. But given the muscular track that awaits the peloton in Switzerland, the Dutchman knows that he will have to be at the top of his condition in order to compete with Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel for whom this course is, on paper, more suitable. Two favorites who will certainly be wary of the current wearer of the rainbow jersey…
The dates of the Los Angeles Olympics are known… and it’s bad news for Remco Evenepoel
