Dwars door Vlaanderen: Mathieu van der Poel wins from small bunch

Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) won the 2022 Dwars door Vlaanderen from an eight-man group that included Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) and Tiesj Benoot (Jumbo-Visma).

This is the second time “MvdP” has won this 184km race that was contested on some of the same roads used at the 2021 UCI world road cycling championships. The 27-year-old last won this race in 2019.

“I wasn’t sure I was the strongest in the lead group. I was fine but not necessarily at my top,” the winner said. “I hope to be on Sunday [at the Tour of Flanders].”

Van der Poel did the majority of the work to bring back the repeated attacks in the final 10km by former world hour record holder Victor Campenaerts (Lotto Soudal), Benoot, and Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ).

How it happened

An early breakaway of Johan Jacobs (Movistar Team), Kelland O’Brien (BikeExchange-Jayco) Nils Politt (Bora-hansgrohe), Aaron Verwilst (Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise) and Mathijs Paasschens (Bingoal-Pauwels Sauces WB) got more than five minutes up the road before the peloton splintered chasing.

Ineos Grenadiers sent Pidcock and Ben Turner into a chasing bunch, joined by van der Poel, Campenaerts, Küng, and Benoot.

Zdeněk Štybar (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) made a gambit to bridge the gap, and then Pogačar went solo as the “Wolfpack” rider gave up the chase.

Pogačar’s solo move to bridge the gap did not last long and when he returned to the bunch at 48km to go, his rear wheel appeared to touch the wheel of Oliver Naessen (AG2R-Citroën), sending the Belgian rider and two others to the ground.

Another attempt to bridge to the front was made by Pogačar, Søren Kragh Andersen (Team DSM), Greg Van Avermaet (AG2R-Citroën), Bryan Coquard (Cofidis), Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ), and Jan Tratnik (Bahrain- Victorious).

At the front of the race, the early breakaway had been caught by a chasing bunch, forming an 11-man group that had 20km of racing to go.

Campenaerts, riding a 58-tooth chainring, launched the first of several attempts to get away, none of which were successful.

Each of his moves were countered or covered by Benoot, van der Poel, or Pidcock.

Benoot took a counter-move to try to get some distance, but this, too, was covered by “MvdP” who did most of the chasing work in the final 8km.

With just 3km to go, Campenaerts and Benoot again tried to get away, and were covered by Küng, Pidcock and van der Poel.

When this move was brought back, van der Poel and Benoot were able to get a handful of seconds behind them, and Pidock and the others could not bring them back.

In the final few hundred meters, van der Poel went to the front, and Benoot sat up, and clapped for the winner as he rolled through the line, while behind him Pidock won the dash for the final podium place.

Pogačar was narrowly outsprinted for ninth on the day by his compatriot Tratnik.

“They were very strong, it was complicated to come back,” Pogačar said. “I was there to learn. That race will help me for Sunday, that will be another matter.”