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Mathieu van der Poel and Tom Pidock Are Primed for Flanders

After a brief cyclocross season where the Big Three was missing from most of the action, Mathieu van der Poel and Tom Pidcock took podiums at the 2022 Dwars door Vlaanderen, in their preparation for Sunday’s Tour of Flanders (Ronde van Vlaanderen).

Van der Poel took first place in Dwars door Vlaanderen, in a two-up sprint against Jumbo-Visma’s Tiesj Benoot.

After about two and a half months of recovery, Van der Poel has had an impressive return to the road. Less than a week ago, on March 25th, he took first at stage four of the 2022 Coppi e Bartali.

Pidcock returned from a stomach ailment and looked sharp, leading the chase and taking the final podium stop.

Check out the full Elite Men’s results here.

Lucinda Brand Is Back

However, the two men were not the only cyclocross stars. On the Elite Women side, Lucinda Brand came in 11th. The 2022 Dwars door Vlaanderen was her first time back on the pavement.

Though she did not top, she was happy with the results and found it a solid race.

See the full Elite Women’s results here.

Wout van Aert Is Out for Flanders

Unfortunately, cycling fans, especially cyclocrossers, hoping for a Big Three showdown at the Ronde will not get their wish.

Jumbo-Visma had announced that Wout van Aert is not feeling well and will be skipping the Tour of Flanders.

The rider and the team confirmed that Van Aert will be out due to a positive COVID-19 test, which might explain the star not feeling well.

Despite the disappointing news, fans can still hope for a repeat of the thrilling cyclocrosser-dominated October 2020 edition, only with Pidcock taking Van Aert’s place.

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