Tim Merlier: 'Mathieu van der Poel came to us and said he was not good, I thought he was joking'

Mathieu van der Poel at Dwars door Vlaanderen 2021 (Photo by Luc Claessen/Getty Images)Mathieu van der Poel came to Dwars door Vlaanderen 2021 as the defending champion and the rider with the most wins taking part in the race but he looked a shell of his normal self on the roads of Belgium