Mathieu Van der Poel stalled.
Impressive since the start of the season and the Flandriennes, the Dutchman came close to another prestigious success, this Sunday in Ghent-Wevelgem.
But he came across someone stronger than him, in the person of Mads Pedersen.
In a long two-man sprint, the Dane beat the world champion to the post, forced to sit down after the effort.
This is the second victory on the Belgian classic in the career of the Lidl-Trek rider, who is placed as an outsider for the Tour of Flanders.
Mads Pedersen makes Mathieu van der Poel fall for it!
The Dane dominates his breakaway companion in the sprint and wins Ghent-Wevelgem for the second time after 2020!
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However, everything started well for Van der Poel, who himself set the stage on fire, taking many of his opponents by surprise, 84 km from the end.
The Dutchman launched the attack from the first pass in the Kemmelberg, while Jonathan Milan opened the road alone.
On the biggest percentages of the day, he increased the tempo to catch up with the leader, followed by only three riders: Mads Pedersen, Laurence Pithie and Jasper Stuyven, who quickly suffered a puncture.
Pedersen more powerful
If the group held together for a moment, the hierarchy became clearer after the third pass on Kemmelberg, 35 km from the finish.
Overpowering on the cobbles, Pedersen set a pace too high for everyone, with the exception of Van der Poel, who hung on as best he could. The duo then remained at the front, maintaining their minute lead until 'to the decisive sprint.
Throwing from afar, the former Danish world champion then won in a regular manner, maintaining his effort until his rival gave up.
With this second place, Van der Poel showed that he was fallible, something some were almost beginning to doubt.
After launching his teammate Jasper Philipsen to victory in Milan-San Remo, then crushing the E3 Grand Prix on Friday, the world champion had until then experienced a smooth preparation for the Tour of Flanders next weekend.
But this time he ran out of juice, something he will want to avoid at all costs in a few days.
Especially since his best rival Wout van Aert had skipped Ghent-Wevelgem, to better prepare…