Omloop Nieuwsblad: Mathieu van der Poel admits 'I almost rode over his head' after dramatic escape
Updated 28/02/2026 at 20:58 GMT
Mathieu van der Poel won Omloop Nieuwsblad in style - but only after producing one of the sharpest saves we will see all season. With 44km to go, Tudor Pro Cycling's Rick Pluimers crashed on the cobbles and lay directly in his path. What happened next left the TNT Sports commentators gasping and underlined exactly why Van der Poel is different. "I almost rode over his head," the Dutchman admitted.
'Ooo!' - Van der Poel sensationally dodges rider on the floor after dramatic crash
Video credit: TNT Sports
Mathieu van der Poel showed "astonishing" reflexes to avoid running over a rival's head during a dramatic moment on his Omloop Nieuwsblad debut.
The Dutchman (Alpecin-Premier Tech) roared to an impressive solo win on Saturday, but he almost came a cropper with 44km remaining on the Belgian cobbles.
As Florian Vermeersch (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) led a front group of hopefuls onto the iconic Molenberg climb, Tudor Pro Cycling's Rick Pluimers suddenly slid out and crashed.
Van der Poel admitted afterwards "I almost rode over his head", while Pluimers apologised to his competitors through a mouthful of missing teeth.
Van der Poel was stationed immediately behind and needed all his cyclo-cross nous to instinctively swerve around the stricken Pluimers, whose head was in the Dutchman's path just a split-second before.
"Ooohhh!" came the joint cry from the TNT Sports commentators as Van der Poel took evasive action.
Replays showed just how close Van der Poel came to running over the Tudor rider.
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Highlights: Van der Poel swerves crash chaos to win Omloop on debut
Video credit: TNT Sports
"You can see the dexterity of the riders behind to get around and keep going," said Robbie McEwen, a 12-time stage winner at both the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France.
Remarkably, despite having to unclip from one pedal, Van der Poel managed to get back on Vermeersch's wheel by the top of the punchy climb.
"It's astonishing," said Matt Stephens.
"We talk about Mathieu van der Poel a lot, but that... he lost all momentum, but still ended up P2 at the top of the climb.
"This man is just class. He really is. How he got round that... he's just so deft, so naturally talented, with that beautiful instinct."
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How 'phenomenal' Van der Poel crushed competition on Omloop debut
Video credit: TNT Sports
'I almost rode over his head' - Victorious Van der Poel
For Van der Poel, it was the latest addition to his stellar palmares.
The Dutchman took off with 16km remaining as his rivals wilted, powering away to a solo victory that underlined his status as the man to beat in the Spring Classics.
But it could have been different had he not taken evasive action on the Molenberg shortly after bridging across to the day's breakaway.
Asked afterwards how he managed to stay upright, Van der Poel said: "I have no idea.
"I want to say sorry to the rider of Tudor because I almost rode over his head, but I had nowhere to go. I unclipped, but luckily I could find my pedal quite fast again."
He added: "It was a goal from our team to win this race. For me, first participation and winning, it feels pretty good."
Van der Poel said he had not decided whether to complete the opening weekend programme and ride Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne on Sunday.
"There is a chance I will ride, yes," he said.
Pluimers 'immediately felt my teeth were gone'
Pluimers finished fifth on opening weekend last season at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne and placed in the top 25 at both Omloop and the Tour of Flanders, but after Saturday's incident he seemed more bothered about a missed opportunity to improve on that result than the injuries sustained after face-planting the cobbles.
"I immediately felt that my teeth were gone," Pluimers told WielerFlits, via Domestique. "It’s not too bad, fortunately. They probably broke in a good place, but I still need to go to the dentist. We’ll see there.
"I just slid away. I wanted to follow Florian [Vermeersch]. I had just come off the top of a cobble when I felt my wheel slip.
"Then I hit the ground with my face. That was really disappointing. I think a lot was possible today because I felt good. But if you crash, you can’t show that.
"I would have preferred to put the race into a decisive situation in a different way, it’s a shame. The Molenberg is an important moment in the race. If you crash there, you know you hold guys up. My apologies to those guys. I would rather have stayed on the bike."
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