The kassien is calling. Around Flanders, frites are frying in questionable fat sources under makeshift gazebos, truckloads of cheap generic beer makes its way into muddy fields to be dispensed in the worst kind of plastic cups that render the beer even more tasteless, ending up trampled into the slop alongside broken yellow flags and dirty white hats jettisoned from atop drunken bonces as they lurch between roadside and suds vendor. We are deep in Spring Classics season, and it only gets better from here.

This may be fairly new territory for Mathieu Van der Poel, but already he’s been touted as a possible Monument winner in his first real tilt at the biggest races on the World Tour, not least by yours truly. Racing on instinct and feel is something rarely seen in these days of team dominance, but this guy, this guy doesn’t need four teammates to control things, he just uses his pure power and unbridled enthusiasm to take on the race, no matter how far from the finish. That’s exactly what he did at today’s Dwaars Door van Vlaanderen, bridging across from the peloton to the break then waiting for the next wave of favourites to join in, before dispatching them with ease in the sprint. Pure class.

Our man on the ground in Flanders this Spring campaign, Russell Jones, got a look at VdP’s winning steed before the start, and had a quick chat to the mechanic in charge of the Dutch champ’s bike. When asked the hard questions he offered these cagey answers: