For both Matthias Skjelmoes (Trek Segafredo) and Mikkel Landa (Bahrain Victorious), watching Tadej Pogachar's rear wheel disappear into the middle distance with meters to go in the Mule de Uy would not have been a pleasant sight.

However, it was at least a consolation that among the peloton of the 2023 Flèche Wallonne, the ringside seats were the closest to watching Pogachar's latest crushing performance.

The difference between the 33-year-old Randa and the up-and-coming Skjelmors is 11 years.

But despite the age difference, both agreed that there was no sense of dishonor when it came to Pogachar, and when it came to losing to a player with 12 wins in his most spectacular Spring Classic campaign in years, if not decades.

"Somebody has to finish second or third," Landa said. Landa said after the race, again unabashedly and refreshingly." The first of the mortals. This is the one. He's a superb rider and it's hard to beat him."

"I didn't have a plan, I just wanted to keep a good position while climbing," Landa admitted. I was just thinking about not exploding so that I would be okay in the last 100 meters."

"Today, the UAE was a very strong team and I wanted to keep things under control until Pogachar reached Mul de Uy in top form. And they did it

"In any case, this result gives us confidence because the week before we were not very good. It's also a very good sign for Liège - Bastogne - Liège."

Landa, who has not won since the 2021 Vuelta a Burgos, has always tended to start the season well. But his latest podium finish came at the end of the early third of the season, the most consistent in a long time.

It was his first podium finish in Flèche, following a seventh-place finish at the season-opening Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, second overall in Iturria Basque, and fifth overall in Catalunya.

Landa also finished second behind a certain Slovenian at the Vuelta a Andalucía in February, admitting after Frèche, "Of course, I can say that it is always tough to finish behind Pogachar and (Remco) Evenepoel (Sudar-Quickstep)."

"But it's always the same. When I turned pro, I always had Prito [Joaquin Rodriguez], Valverde, and Contador.

Landa's "first human" comment was echoed a little later by Mike Woods, who said the same thing. And Matthias Skjelmors, the first "mere mortal" to cross the finish line after Pogachar, recognized that nothing more was possible.

"I told the Danish TV station that I was grateful for second place behind Tadej. I did my best and was in a good position. It wasn't close, but it was closer than I thought.

"We tried to keep up and were hoping someone would attack early.

Skjelmors has shown remarkable improvement this season, especially in the Ardennes, with a top 10 finish in Amstel and his first podium in Flèche. It is also Denmark's first podium in a midweek classic since Jacob Fuglsang took second in 2019.

Given Pogachar's current dominance, it would be unwise to predict that Trek Segafredo's young professionals will follow a similar path. But the fact that he and his team with Giulio Ciccone had placed in the top five twice was nothing to be ashamed of, he concluded.

"I wasn't surprised that Taddeji waited for Mlle.

"If he was as good as he was, he might have wanted to win in a more exciting way.

"It's also a sign of a great champion to stay calm when you know you have good legs. We always go for the win, but my second place and Ciccone's fifth was a great job."

Did mere mortals lose everything at La Doyenne on Sunday? Pogachar himself said that after controlling the 200 km race, his team was too tired to race as hard as he would have liked.

Landa himself argued that Pogachar's dominance and the much-anticipated duel with Evenpoel could provide an opportunity for an ambush if the two were overly focused on the chase.

"I expect a hard race," he said. But with Lemko coming in, maybe it will be a big battle between the two of them."

However, there were no surprises in the final result at this year's Flèche Wallonne.