Belgian classics are in full swing! We witnessed some amazing racing today at Dwars door Vlaanderen. As usual, the peloton split into several small groups. In the end, Matthieu Van Der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) was the fastest as he successfully beat other classics specialists that were in his group such as Benoot, Pidcock, Campenaerts, Politt, and Kung. Tratnik crossed the finish line 9th, 2 minutes and 8 seconds behind the winner. He outsprinted Pogačar (UAT Team Emirates) and Madouas (Grupama – FDJ).
»These races are new for me. I already raced some of them in 2019, but I lack more experience. I made a lot of mistakes today and spent too much energy in the first part of the race because I don’t know the roads. Too many times I was at the end of the peloton, which is not a good position to be in at classics. When the key attack happened, I was way too behind to react to it. What was left for me was to try to catch the breakaway but that was almost mission impossible. Luckily, Tadej was with me and we worked well together. Ninth place is a nice result for me, the whole race was a great experience and I can’t wait for Sunday.«
Photo: Sprint Cycling Agency