Winner Slams Unsporting Tactics
Mathieu van der Poel didn't mince his words after his victory at the E3 Saxo Classic, openly criticizing the unsportsmanlike behavior of several teams in the early stages of the race.
The Dutch champion was particularly upset about what happened in the first 30 minutes of the race, when a crash caused the group to split. While several favorites, including Van der Poel himself, were left behind, some teams took advantage of the situation by pushing hard at the front, creating a gap of three minutes.
'It's not fair play to go full speed ahead after a crash that has blocked half the group'said a visibly irritated Van der Poel in the post-race press conference.
'It's something we as a team would never do. It shows a real problem in modern cycling.'referring to the lack of solidarity in the group.
His Alpecin-Deceuninck was forced into a grueling chase to bring back the leading group, which included riders of the caliber of Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Jasper Stuyven (Lidl-Trek). Despite the immense effort of his teammates, Van der Poel still managed to find the energy to place the decisive attack on the Old Kwaremont, first detaching Mads Pedersen and then Filippo Ganna.
