On Sunday, there were no answers for Tadej Pogačar at the Tour of Flanders, with the world champion racing to a 19km solo victory following his race-winning attack on the Oude Kwaremont.
Reigning champion Mathieu van der Poel, the Slovenian's biggest rival for the title this year, was often the only man to match his accelerations on numerous cobbled bergs. But he couldn't find an answer on the penultimate climb of the 269km race.
Van der Poel was one of several riders caught up in a crash with 127km to go but recovered to fight for the win. After eventually finishing third, 1:01 behind Pogačar, he said that he was content with his third place, noting that he was "already on the limit from quite far" out from Oudenaarde.
"Not really," was Van der Poel's response when asked if he felt close to the win. "I was already on the limit from quite far.
"With the crash, of course, it was not ideal, but I think we put up a good fight with the team, and I did everything I could. I'm happy with the podium.
"It's never good to be in a crash, but I think the damage was still quite OK. For the crash, I was lucky. But of course, it was not ideal."
Van der Poel's podium has now seen him finish among the top three in six out of seven starts at the race, his 2019 debut the only miss with a fourth place. Pogačar is two for three, with both his podiums resulting in victories, the pair of them coming via solo attacks on the Oude Kwaremont.
Van der Poel was the last man to hang on to Pogačar before he too had to let go. Earlier in the race, on the first of three ascents of the climb with 55km to go, he was caught out of position as Pogačar launched for the first time.
When asked about his positioning during the race, Van der Poel said that he was caught out "maybe not the whole day, but I was sometimes placed a bit too far.
"I think I can be happy with the race I did," he added. "I fought pretty hard, but I felt already from quite far that I was on the limit."
Next up for Pogačar, Van der Poel, and the other riders in that elite chase group behind the winner, Mads Pedersen, Wout van Aert, and Jasper Stuyven, is Paris-Roubaix. Next Sunday's cobbled Classics closer marks Pogačar's debut at the Queen of the Classics.
Van der Poel will be aiming for his third cobblestone trophy in Roubaix, but he gave little away about his chances in the post-Flanders flash interview.
"I think it's less of a hard race than Flanders," he said. "You need a bit more luck as well in Roubaix, but we will see."
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