The Classics tend to hand down lessons more readily than they hand out bouquets. Sunweb's Michael Matthews and Søren Kragh Andersen must have felt they had done the hard part when they made the decisive split after the Kemmelberg in the finale of Gent-Wevelgem, but nothing is ever straightforward in this corner of the world and at this time of the year.
Matthews was caught on the wrong side when the 14-strong leading group split in two with 20 kilometres to go, but Andersen remained in front as part of an elite quintet with Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe), Greg Van Avermaet (BMC), Jens Keukeleire (Orica-Scott) and Niki Terpstra (Quick-Step).
Barely five kilometres later, however, Andersen found himself on the back foot when Terpstra and Sagan's impromptu game of bluff and counter-bluff allowed the eventual winner Van Avermaet and Keukeleire to forge clear. The young Dane performed impressively even as all cohesion dissipated from the group, but he received no reward for his efforts, and was swept up by the chasing peloton, eventually finishing 16th.
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"With Terpstra and Sagan, the work in the group was not going 100 per cent. I did some pulls but I also saved myself a bit, because I had Matthews behind and I said that to the guys," Andersen told Cyclingnews. "In the end, Terpstra didn't want to ride at all, and Sagan was like, ‘Okay, I'll also stop.' They let Van Avermaet and Keukeleire go, and they are not stupid: They put the gas down and from then on, all three of us screwed ourselves.
"I was a little bit caught in a sandwich there. I'm a young guy and I didn't know exactly what to do. It's a hard experience you know. In the team we hoped for more. We had the chance to get a better result, but that's how it is."
Matthews barely put a pedal stroke askew all afternoon, riding confidently through the narrow section of gravel roads, the so-called Plugstreets, and then forging his way towards the front on the Kemmelberg. As the leading group of fourteen hurtled over the other side, only Sagan and John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo) stood out as rivals in the potential group sprint, only for the race to turn in a split second on a section of headwind outside of Ieper.
Amstel on the horizon for Matthews
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