Matthias will be the one to watch in the following races but I'm sure he will handle the pressure well And BTW how old is he now? because a achieved a lot of things in his career already
My personal everest. I've never been able to win here.
Today I start here, in the town of my birth, the town I grew up in, where I live. I stood here among my people in the Rainbow Jersey.
No way I could stand to lose for these people today. No way!
Profile
We know this route, and we know how it can finish.
After E3 - Harelbeke, our team has been given a nickname. I love it.
The Black Brigade.
Once again we took control of the race. When we get to the front, people start panicking. And so they should!
The guys put in a monster performance today and once again destroyed the entire field, blowing everything to pieces!
Stybar decided he needed to get away from our Black Brigade. He attacked!
And so four were left. Besides me, there was Stybar, Vanbilsen, Van Avermaet.
Vanbilsen wanted to shake us off. I countered!
Van Avermaet was the only victim. But when the attack ended and neither of us wanted to take the relay, he was able to return. More, he surprised us with an attack. I didn't know he would do that and was surprised myself!
I hung at the back and just reacted to their acceleration, countering Greg.
And then, I think they cracked. They weren't able to bridge the gap. For some reason, I started panicking.
I knew Van Avermaet had this. We had the victory. But then I made the biggest mistake I've ever made in my career... I jumped away, towards Greg.
When I passed Greg, I couldn't look him at the face.
I celebrated. My first Gent - Wevelgem, in this jersey. I was happy all right!
But Greg didn't smile, he didn't congratulate me. I realized I did a shitty thing...
Result
I should definitely make this right. We can't go to the Ronde with this between us...
Matt
Shonak - It wasn't his best move, I'll admit that. And I wasn't too sure if Greg would keep it to the line, but he would have, as Vanbilsen and Stybar had nothing left for the sprint.
TimoCycling - Yup
Martial1 - I hope so, too
VoetsT - You're quite right... The Quadrupple is still there for the taking!
Kids,
sometimes in life you can have a good thing going, and whatever you do, you can't seem to lose.
But sometimes you do lose, even when you win...
In the Spring of 2018, Me and your uncle Greg were well on our way to make another 1 - 2, in De Ronde Van Vlaanderen, no less. In those days, we were called The Black Brigade, and in the cobbled classics we could do just about whatever we wanted. Yes, 2018 was an awesome year. And in De Ronde, it seems like we were continuing our dominance.
But let's back up a bit. You see, ever since I joined Omega Pharma - Quickstep, I had been getting along great with your uncle Greg. We became best buddies in no time. At the start of the spring classics, we were an inseperable duo. But, kids, sometimes in life you make a decision that you regret forever.
On March 25th in 2018, I made the biggest mistake of my life. You see, your uncle Greg was on his way to win Gent - Wevelgem. This was one of the last chances in his career to take a major classic.
In a moment I still can't explain, I overtook him and stole away the victory. Kids, this is not something I'm proud of. To this day I still don't understand why I did that. Your aunt Julie still refers to this as the mystery of the sprinting moron.
So in the following week, I tried to explain myself to the team. Most of the guys understood what happened and that there was a risk of Vanbilsen catching your uncle Greg. At the start of De Ronde, exactly one week later, everyone was cool again. Except with one man: your uncle Greg.
You see, your uncle Greg was a man who had no problems working for someone else. He always had everyone's best interests at heart. He was loyal. But in the Spring of 2018, I had betrayed him.
Still, I wasn't a bad guy. The sportman in me had taken over control for a split second, but I was ready to make up for that. So in De Ronde Van Vlaanderen, I put the team to work.
As the race progressed, I approached your uncle Greg.
"Hey, Greg."
(...)
"Come on, you know I'm sorry."
(...)
"Listen, let me make it up to you. What if you could win the Ronde Van Vlaanderen?"
Your uncle Greg was a remarkable athlete, and I believe he was never stronger than the Spring of 2018. I always said that if he had been on another team, I would've had an extremely strong opponent to challenge me for the win in the cobbled classics.
So when I put myself in his service, his chances of winning De Ronde had never looked better!
When Vanbilsen was the last one to hang on, and attacked, it was time to show Greg my gratitude.
I closed the gap for Greg in a 4 kilometer chase.
We even did better than that. On a small bump towards the finish, Vanbilsen cracked. For the third consecutive classic, Omega Pharma would score first and second place!
And so I brought your uncle Greg to the finish of De Ronde Van Vlaanderen. I had already won two editions, your uncle had never won here. I dropped behind him and said: "here it is. Take it, you earn it."
He looked at me. I could tell he was struggling to say the following, but it was the right thing. And, kids, your uncle Greg always did the right thing.
"Let's take it together."
I nodded and came up besides him. Two friends crossing the finish line of the most beautiful race in the world together. Life couldn't be better!
Don't we look happy on that picture? Right?
Wrong.
We did decide to cross the finish line together. But only one man would be counted as the winner of De Ronde Van Vlaanderen 2018. I was a quarter of an inch ahead of Greg when we crossed the line.
Your uncle Greg never forgave me for winning that Ronde. To this day, he still doesn't believe me when I say I wasn't trying to win that. We crossed the line together. But Greg saw this as a second betrayel, and one too many.
It's funny in a way. That quarter of an inch changed my entire life. Suddenly I was in the history books. I had won De Ronde Van Vlaanderen 3 times, an achievement only matched by Buysse, Magni, Leman, Museeuw and Boonen. At the age of 26, I was already part of history and I was writing my own legend.
That quarter of an inch was enough to break up the friendship between me and your uncle Greg forever. Later in 2018, your uncle and I would part ways forever. Whenever I'd run into him, he would not talk to me, nor listen to what I had to say.
Even at the wedding of your aunt Julie, my sister, he wasn't able to look me right into the eye. That's why, whenever you go to visit your aunt Julie and your uncle Greg, your mother takes you, and I stay at home.
Wait - I thought there was a lesson here. Oh yeah, here it is.
Kids, in the Spring of 2018 I thought I had it all. I was unbeatable on the bike, I had just met your mother, the world was at my feet. But winning and losing is closer together than you think.
For me, it was a quarter of an inch.
Spoiler
This report is a tribute to the show 'How I Met Your Mother', if you haven't seen it, this will seem rather odd. In that case, I can only advice you to watch it.
Oh, and here's the full result of the race: Result
Great ride and a very, very enjoyable report. Though I'm not happy with the result, so I can fully understand Greg's hate towards Matt, he must be so fed up with the King. Mistake or not, it could have been a great move but intention is worth little when it ends like this. In the end, I think Matt's inner sportsman did make him push his bike a little harder.
Oh, and gratz on getting married.
"It’s a little bit scary when Contador attacks." - Tommy V
And BTW how old is he now? because a achieved a lot of things in his career already 
Gent - Wevelgem 
