{"id":498033,"date":"2026-03-27T09:43:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T09:43:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/498033\/"},"modified":"2026-03-27T09:43:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T09:43:10","slug":"no-pogacar-no-van-aert-no-need-to-doubt-philippe-gilbert-predicts-mathieu-van-der-poel-dominance-at-e3-despite-injury-concerns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/498033\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cNo Pogacar, no Van Aert, no need to doubt\u201d \u2013 Philippe Gilbert predicts Mathieu van der Poel dominance at E3 despite injury concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nGilbert sets the toneGilbert\u2019s confidence is not built on absence alone, but on what he believes Milano-Sanremo<\/a> actually showed. \u201cWithout that crash, Mathieu would always have stayed with them on the Poggio.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his view, the defining image of Van der Poel being dropped late in the race does not reflect a gap in level, but a moment shaped by circumstance. Strip away the crash, and the expectation is that he would have remained right at the front. That is what underpins the certainty in his earlier assessment. Not just that Van der Poel is the best option available, but that he remains at the level required to dominate.<\/p>\n

Sanremo reframed, not questioned<\/p>\n

That reading is shared elsewhere. \u201cSanremo tells you nothing about the races that are coming now. He came up against a super, super Pogacar there,\u201d Dirk De Wolf explained.<\/p>\n

Rather than raising concerns, the Poggio moment is being treated as a race-specific outcome, one driven by an exceptional performance from Pogacar and the added complication of the crash.<\/p>\n

In that context, Van der Poel\u2019s inability to follow is not seen as a warning sign ahead of the cobbled Classics.<\/p>\n

\"Tadej<\/p>\n

Van der Poel managed to follow Pogacar’s initial move at Milano-Sanremo 2026<\/p>\n

Dominance strengthened by absence<\/p>\n

If anything, the conditions around E3 only reinforce Gilbert\u2019s position. \u201cWith the level he\u2019s at now, he would always have been in contention for the win,\u201d Benoit Naesen said of Wout van Aert.<\/p>\n

Remove Van Aert and Pogacar from the equation, and the number of riders capable of matching Van der Poel shrinks dramatically. \u201cBecause of that, we\u2019ll get a very open race on Friday,\u201d Oliver Naesen added.<\/p>\n

But that openness does not extend to the very front of the race.<\/p>\n

One rider still defines the outcome<\/p>\n

That is the key distinction. The race may offer more opportunities, more attacking options, and more unpredictability behind. But the expectation at the front remains unchanged.<\/p>\n

Van der Poel arrives with a minor question mark after Sanremo. But he also arrives without his two biggest rivals, and with the backing of those who believe his level has not dropped.<\/p>\n

Gilbert\u2019s stance is clear. Even with the injury. Even after Sanremo. There is still no need to doubt.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Gilbert sets the toneGilbert\u2019s confidence is not built on absence alone, but on what he believes Milano-Sanremo…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":495260,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,167713,99800,109543,33738,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-498033","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-cycling","9":"tag-e3-saxo-classic","10":"tag-mathieu-van-der-poel","11":"tag-milano-sanremo","12":"tag-philippe-gilbert","13":"tag-sports","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom","16":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498033","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=498033"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498033\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/495260"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=498033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=498033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=498033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}