'It was clear that Mathieu was not pulling full gas' – Wout van Aert foiled by 'defensive' ride from Van der Poel in promising In Flanders Fields attack

For a time, it looked like the men's In Flanders Fields finale was going to be pure cinema, a much longed-for head-to-head fight between Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech), a pair whose rivalry goes back 20 years.

It's a battle we've been deprived of for some time, with the duo not directly sparring for the win in a Classic for three years now, and everyone's mouths were watering at the possibility of an all-out sprint between the two in Wevelgem.

We got the all-out sprint, but it wasn't between these two titans of the Classics, with a chasing group reeling them back in in the final kilometre to give way for Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech).

It was therefore still something of a win by proxy for Van der Poel, following on from his own thriller victory on Friday – when things didn't go the way of the chasers – and Van Aert lamented the "luxury" situation his long-time rival found himself in.

"It was somewhat inevitable in the final, because the peloton was closing in quickly," he said to Sporza.

"The collaboration with Mathieu was good, but he had the luxury of Philipsen still being behind him, which allowed him to race a bit more defensively at the end. That worked to my disadvantage and made the difference."

Van Aert had his own teammates behind him, but perhaps not quite sprinters de luxe in the vein of Philipsen. Christophe Laporte grabbed third for Visma, as Matthew Brennan didn't figure, given he is still recovering from illness.

Whilst Van Aert praised the collaboration with Van der Poel, Visma sports director Arthur van Dongen was more direct in his assessment that the Dutchman was responsible for the duo not staying away – for a good reason.

"It was clear that Mathieu was not pulling full gas," Van Dongen told Cyclingnews. "But I think that was a good tactic for them."

Another podium spot is probably not what Visma-Lease a Bike wanted from this race, but with Van der Poel's trump card and missing their top sprinter in the finale, there was not an awful lot to complain about after Van Aert committed to the move.

"We missed Matthew [Brennan] in that group, but he's still coming back from sickness, so we don't worry, this race is a step up to the next races. Then we had Christophe and we sprinted to a podium spot, so I think that's still good," Van Dongen said.

Despite not getting the win, or even battling for it, Van Aert was also characteristically upbeat at the finish, rather than down on his performance. In fact, it was his eldest son who he had to console at the finish, disappointed at not seeing his dad win.

"The feeling was good, I was able to follow Mathieu on the last time up Kemmel," he said. "I thought we had a good chance of staying ahead. But it just didn't quite work out.

"I am satisfied with how I was able to race. The result didn't follow, but it was still a nice day."

A nice day may not satisfy Van Aert's critics, but it's much better than a bad one as he approaches his bigger goals of the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.

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