Yesterday in Koksijde, Belgium, Tom Pidcock was absent but a great duel was expected between Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel. And so it was: but only for the first half of the race (see REPORTS AND VIDEOS OF THE RACE).
The two were leading the race but from mid-race onwards Van der Poel crashed and the images immortalized him while he was stretching his back during the race: a worrying gesture given Van Der Poel's back problems after the Tokyo Olympics.
Let's hope there isn't a relapse of back problems and that it's just a momentary pain, given the toughness of Koksijde's race, which featured many stretches of sand. However, despite these problems, he finished 2nd behind a wild Van Aert.
It sucks, but I can't help it. I felt a very strong twinge. Too bad because I was really looking forward to this race. It felt pretty good, my legs too, but at one point I could barely put one foot in front of the other. It actually went quite well this winter. I really don't understand where this back pain suddenly came from. In past races, we have been evenly matched. Logically we should have continued like this today too. I'm a little worried, but everything will be fine. Tomorrow I will take good care of my back to be able to give my best on Sunday as well – Mathieu Van Der Poel
