Not a week ago, there was talk – including on this website – that Mathieu van der Poel might have lost half a step in his buildup to his beloved Cobbled Classics. The three-time Paris-Roubaix and Tour of Flanders winner was uncharacteristically dropped at Milan-San Remo on the Poggio, and finished a muted (for him) 8th. He later said a finger injury in the late crash had prevented him from holding the handlebar correctly.
Dane Cash
Friday's E3, an important tuneup for next Sunday's Flanders, won't exactly quiet those questions but was a victory in several senses. He powered to a narrow solo win with a 43 km move, even if only just barely holding off the chase. And he also notched a win for his Alpecin-Premier Tech team's longtime bike partner, Canyon, as he rode an unreleased Canyon model – likely the new Endurace – to a victory in its first outing.
Van der Poel said the close-fought win is "the one that hurt the most" adding that late in the race he was fairly sure he would be caught. "A good kilometer from the finish I thought they were coming back," he said. "I knew I couldn't sprint anymore, so I just sat down and rode as fast as I could."
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