Mathieu van der Pol said he is 100% ready for Paris-Roubaix after a solid run in Scheldeprij that ended with a win for Alpecin Deceuninck, an ideal result for Yasper Philipsen.

Van der Pol, who was more than halfway to Paris-Roubaix, chose to work rather than take risks in the early stages of the sprint race.

A winner of Milan-San Remo and runner-up in the Tour de Flanders, van der Pol has his sights set on Paris-Roubaix, where he finished third in 2021 and ninth last year.

He finished the Scheldeprijs convinced that the midweek race was part of the ideal preparation for the cobbles of northern France next Sunday.

"It was definitely a great start. A 200km race with a strong team is better preparation than a training ride. I always found the gap between the Tour de Flanders and Paris-Roubaix difficult, so this Wednesday's race was ideal," he told Het Nieuwsblad (open in new tab). [The team did a great job. We are 100% ready for Paris-Roubaix."

Van der Pol explained that he made the long turn at the front until 2km from the finish because it was too dangerous to get caught up in the finale. His teammates guided Philipsen to a perfect position, and Philipsen won ahead of Sam Welsford (Team DSM) and Mark Cavendish (Astana Kazakstan).

Perhaps van der Pol's not-so-good moment in Scheldepri came mid-race when he received a "gift from the sky" from a passing bird. Van der Pol laughed off the incident, but some considered it a sign of good luck for Paris-Roubaix.

Philipsen explained that he would one day try to win Paris-Roubaix himself, but that Alpecin de Seuninck's team plan was based entirely on Van der Pol's success.

He also praised Van der Pol for his victory in Scheldeprij, telling Belgian media that "only Mathieu could make such a long turn."

"Paris-Roubaix is my last race of the spring. I will go into the final with as many riders in front of me as possible and try to lead him to victory; two years ago I was in the early breakaway and was able to fulfill that mission," said Philipsen.