As early as 2016, he was allowed to toast with Peter Sagan as the winner of the Tour of Flanders at the victory celebration in the evening. Yesterday Michael Gogl was given this rare honor as Alpecin teammate by Mathieu van der Poel. The Dutchman won the second cycling monument of the year in an impressive manner in a sprint to the finish line yesterday, putting Tour Champion Tadej Pogacar (UAE) in his place at his very first “Ronde”.
After 272 grueling kilometers, which this year were again followed by tens of thousands of spectators along the route, the big showdown in the classic between the cycling giants Van der Poel and Pogacar took place in Oudenaarde. As so often, the highly talented Slovenian tackled this difficult classic on his debut briskly and dictated the pace again and again over the last 50 kilometers on the poisonous climbs such as the Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg. Many competitors fell victim to these attacks, only Van der Poel, who had already won the race in 2020, stayed doggedly on the rear wheel. He later admitted: “Tadej was the strongest today.”
But it remained a duet until the finale. Last year, multiple cross-country world champion Van der Poel was bitterly defeated by his escape companion Kasper Asgreen (Quick-Step) in a duel on the home stretch, but he didn’t make that mistake a second time this year. He slowed the pace, even coming from behind Dylan Van Baarle (Ineos) and Valentin Madouas (Groupama) caught up. Then Van der Poel, grandson of French cycling legend Raymond Poulidor, moved in and salvaged the win while Pogacar, who gambled, was left with a thankless fourth place.
Gogl could also be proud of his work behind the scenes. He played an important strategic role in the “Ronde” as Van der Poel’s adjutant. “Our plan worked out perfectly, we can celebrate that,” said the 28-year-old. (free)
Source: Nachrichten
