{"id":231199,"date":"2026-03-02T18:48:45","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T18:48:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/02\/sean-kellys-classics-column-sometimes-you-have-to-be-a-glass-cranker\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T18:48:45","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T18:48:45","slug":"sean-kellys-classics-column-sometimes-you-have-to-be-a-glass-cranker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/02\/sean-kellys-classics-column-sometimes-you-have-to-be-a-glass-cranker\/","title":{"rendered":"Sean Kelly’s Classics Column: Sometimes, you have to be a glass-cranker"},"content":{"rendered":"

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I was looking forward to Omloop Het Nieuwsblad<\/a> until Mathieu van der Poel<\/a> announced he was riding. It’s always an interesting one, the first of the Classics, with a lot of question marks, and I was looking forward to a good race, an exciting race, and probably a race with a bit more suspense than the one we got. But unfortunately, when he announced he was riding on Thursday, I could not help but feel \u2013 like many of the riders no doubt \u2013 a little disappointed.<\/p>\n

As it turned out, he made it look so, so easy. But don\u2019t get me wrong, Van der Poel is still impressive to watch. He is phenomenal, not only physically but also technically. He\u2019s just able to read the race so well, and his bike handling is excellent.<\/p>\n

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