It was only a couple of centimeters that separated Wout Van Aert's victory in the Tour of Flanders and yet another addition to one of the most impressive seasons in recent memory.

In the end, the Jumbo Wisma phenomenon did not occur. In Oudenaarde, he was overtaken by longtime rival Mathieu Van der Pol (Alpecin Phoenix).

In the short 243-km race, Van Aert put Van der Poel in his intended position, namely at the front in the last kilometer, hoping for a monumental win following the Milan-San Remo in August. However, he did not win on the Minderbroeder Straat.

"It's simple," said the Italian. He was just a little bit stronger. I wanted to be first in the sprint, but I waited a little too long. I could have had a longer sprint, but I didn't use it."

"Of course I wanted to win, but this is a good second place. I'm going to go over that sprint a few times before I go to bed, but I don't think I made any big mistakes."

The two fought polemics over the race for the win after Ghent-Wevelgem. Van der Pol had already called the "bickering" a "media exaggeration," and van Aal also ridiculed the situation.

"We chatted a lot during the race. We went through all the newspaper articles this week."

"No, seriously, we kept each other informed about the time difference, but other than that we were focused on the race. Mathieu and I both did our turns and worked well together"

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The two were supposed to join Julien Alaphilippe of Elegant Quickstep in the final. However, that showdown never materialized, and with 35 km to go, the Frenchman was involved in a bike crash.

Alaphilippe, who was at the tail end of the trio, was apparently out of sight as his two companions swerved to avoid the bike and hit the back of a slow-moving race bike. Van Aert said he felt sorry for Alaphilippe, but felt the Frenchman had not been careful enough.

"I ran past the heat, but it was logical to try to stay in that slipstream as long as possible. If Julien crashed as a result I would like to apologize but I think he was a bit careless."

"It's unfortunate for him. Because otherwise we would have been three. Afterwards, Mathieu and I quickly realized that we couldn't drop each other and that we would be going to Oudenaarde together, both of us were confident in our sprint."

Van Aert also had bad luck, crashing on the first passage through Oude Kwaremont midway through the race. He crashed lightly in the grass and quickly got going again, but said he expended a lot of energy in his efforts to catch up and then to catch up with Van der Pol and Alaphilippe in Teyenberg.

"Of course, that wasn't ideal. Of course, it wasn't ideal," he said. Someone braked in front of me, but I didn't brake fast enough. After that I had a little bit of a bad feeling and had to make up some places. But in the end there was nothing left for me to do and I was able to run the race. "

Despite the close loss, Van Aert said he is satisfied with the 2020 season. The past year has been a year of top-class results, including two stage wins at Strada Bianche, Milan-San Remo, and the Tour de France, as well as two silver medals at the World Championships.

The cancellation of Paris-Roubaix, where he finished 13th and 22nd the past two seasons, was a major blow to him.

"Yes, I should be able to change my mind (that it was a good season) very soon. After the Tour de France and the World Championships I worked hard to stay in condition. I am proud that I was able to ride like I did in Strade Bianche and at the start of the season again.

"However, I am disappointed that Paris-Roubaix will not take place. When the cancellation was made official, I had a difficult time mentally. It is the most beautiful race, along with the Ronde, and this is what I have been training for.

"Now I am not going to run for two weeks and I want to enjoy Sarah's pregnancy. I need November to prepare for the cyclocross season. I'll figure out when I'll be back."