Mathieu van der Poel scripted his own downfall at Gent-Wevelgem. After his extraordinary solo victory at the E3 Saxo Classic on Friday, the world champion was asked if anyone had impressed him. “Trek,” he snapped back instantly. “They showed that when you take the whole team and go to the front, you can really make a difference.”
On Sunday, Lidl-Trek, to give them their full name, gladly obliged, and were richly rewarded. The man who had been widely described as unbeatable on Sunday morning had been made to sit down in the sprint with Mads Pedersen, made to look human again.