‘I believe I’ll be able to beat him one day’ – Florian Vermeersch bullish about Classics future after going toe-to-toe with Mathieu Van der Poel in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad

If there was one rider who looked – albeit briefly – as if they could challenge Mathieu van der Poel’s crushing domination in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on Saturday, it was Florian Vermeersch, whose attack on the Molenberg saw one major contender briefly put some daylight between himself and the all-conquering Dutchman.

Instead, things reverted to their expected course as Van der Poel first caught up with the UAE Team Emirates-XRG racer and then went on to shed the Belgian, fellow counter-attacker Tim van Dijke (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and the remnants of the early breakaway.