Mathieu van der Poel: Flanders win turns an average season into a super season

OUDENAARDE BELGIUM OCTOBER 18 Arrival Mathieu Van Der Poel of The Netherlands and Team AlpecinFenix Celebration during the 104th Tour of Flanders 2020 Ronde van Vlaanderen Men Elite a 2433km race from Antwerpen to Oudenaarde RVV20 FlandersClassic on October 18 2020 in Oudenaarde Belgium Photo by Luc ClaessenGetty Images
Van der Poel celebrates his Flanders win, following in the footsteps of his father Adrie, who won the race in 1986 (Image credit: Getty Images Sport)

After a thrilling final 40 kilometres of the Tour of Flanders, it was Alpecin-Fenix rider Mathieu van der Poel who threw his front wheel a few centimetres ahead of that of his arch-rival, Jumbo-Visma's Wout van Aert at the finish line in Oudenaarde, earning him his first-ever win in one of cycling's Monuments.

Van der Poel's win comes 34 years after the win of his father Adrie Van der Poel, and 57 years after a top-10 from grandfather Raymond Poulidor, who passed away last year.