Mathieu van der Poel made repeated attempts to bend the European Championships road race to his will on Sunday, but the Dutchman’s aggression was eventually snuffed out with 25km to go and the race ended in a bunch sprint.
Tim Merlier (Belgium) claimed the title ahead of Van der Poel’s compatriot Olav Kooij, while the world champion had to settle for 30th place in one of his final outings in the rainbow jersey.
Although the Hasselt finale had attracted a host of sprinters to the European Championships, Van der Poel aimed to break the race apart on the cobbles and hills of the Limburg circuit, and he began his offensive with over 100km still to race, bringing contenders like Mads Pedersen (Denmark) and Matteo Trentin (Italy) with him
“It was our tactical plan to try to make the race hard there and to make sure we always had someone with us. We did that very well, I think,” Van der Poel said, according to Het Laatste Nieuws.
“I did my thing on the road to the best of my ability. But everything backfired because of the strong Italian block, which we expected. They pulled everything and everybody back. Was it frustrating? No, I knew beforehand that it would be very difficult. It's not something I’m bothered about.”
Yet even if there was an air of inevitability about the outcome, Van der Poel was still railing against those odds deep into the final hour of racing. With 30km remaining, he was still off the front in a six-man group that included Pedersen and defending champion Christophe Laporte (France).
“There was a chance of course, so we believed in it,” Van der Poel said. “But honestly, I didn't have super legs myself. The gap needed to be a bit bigger to make it to the finish.”
After Van der Poel’s attacks came to an end, the Dutch focus switched to Kooij, but he was outmatched by Merlier in the finishing straight.
“Maybe we should have led him out a bit better,” Van der Poel said. “But it was quite hectic in that final kilometre, a long straight with a headwind.”
The race was Van der Poel’s first since he abandoned the Renewi Tour ahead of the final stage two weeks ago, and he will return to action at the Tour of Luxembourg on Wednesday as he builds towards the defence of his road world title in Zurich on September 29.
Van der Poel enjoyed a thunderous start to his 2024 season, teeing up Jasper Philipsen for Milan-San Remo victory before helping himself to E3 Harelbeke, the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, as well as a third-place finish at Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
The second phase of Van der Poel’s campaign has been less successful, though he played a part in helping Philipsen to a hat-trick of stage wins at the Tour de France. Van der Poel remains among the top contenders for the Zurich Worlds, though Tadej Pogačar will surely line out as the favourite after his exhibition at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal on Sunday.
“This extra competitive rhythm was welcome for me,” Van der Poel said of his day out at the European Championships. “The Tour of Luxembourg next week will also do me good. And then it’s full throttle recovery towards Zurich.”
