Lining up at the start of the Gooikse Pijl (1.1, 19/09) with outgoing winner Danny van Poppel, Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux almost managed to repeat the feat of the 2020 edition this Sunday. Throughout the day, the teammates of the Dutch sprinter took responsibility of the chase, first behind the early morning breakaway of seven riders, then behind several counterattackers who tried to exploit the hilly terrain of the Pajottenland.
The hard work of van Poppel’s teammates overcame any threat willing to deny the outcome of a bunch sprint. Ludwig De Winter and Loïc Vliegen kept the last attackers at reasonable distance before Danny van Poppel’s sprint train followed suit as they approached the final. Wesley Kreder and Boy Van Poppel put the winner of the Egmont Cycling Classic into orbit, who eventually took second place behind Jakobsen (Deceuninck). With this result, Danny van Poppel secures a place on the podium for the tenth time this season.
« The good results keep on coming, turning this season into my best ever. Not in terms of victories, but I'm proud on the regularity I'm showing this year. Today, the great work of the team motivated me even more to achieve another great result. A couple of riders, among who Mathieu van der Poel, wanted to make the race hard. That's why our team joined forces with BORA Hansgrohe to take control of the peloton. My teammates brought my to Fabio Jakobsen's slipstream in the approach to the sprint. I started my effort before him, but he managed to pass me afterwards. As I kept the speed high until the finish line, I need to conclude that I was defeated by a faster rider. I'm happy that I could reward the team with my tenth podium of the season! »
