Stefan Küng put his teammate on the podium, and his own results put two from Groupama-FDJ in the top five, but the Swiss rider could not help but have some small regrets after the Tour de Flanders.

Just two seconds after Madouas crossed the finish line in third place, Kühn followed in fifth place from a group he thought was doomed.

"When I saw the final stretch, I thought, 'Oh, maybe everything was possible,'" said a slightly disappointed Swiss rider in the media zone in Oudenaarde.

Cung entered the race as the Groupama-FDJ's strong leader after finishing third in the E3 Saxo Bank Classic last Friday and sixth in the midweek Doire de Vlaanderen. Maduas, on the other hand, was slightly off the radar at the Tour de Flanders due to his relative lack of experience in cobbled classics, despite finishing seventh and 11th in the same race.

It was Free Electronic who made the decisive move in the Koppenberg as one of two riders who were able to chase Tadey Pogachar (UAE Team Emirates). Although he was not far behind Kühn, he was in the chase group and headed to cover the counterattack.

Maduas, however, formed a breakaway with Dylan Van Baarle (Ineos Grenadiers), and as the lead group stalled out in anticipation of the sprint, the pair made a dramatic push.

Maduas rode his momentum to get in front of Pogachar, but was unable to reach Van der Pol and was passed by Van Baarle for second place. Still, Maduas was happy to be on the podium.

"It's really super for me. It's my first podium at Monument. It was a little bit unexpected. I didn't expect to be on the podium, but it's really great."

"I'm really happy to be on the podium,"

Madduas said.

As Maduas approached the line, Küng was close behind. He pulled away from Dylan Thiuns (Bahrain Victorious) and Tiesj Benoot (Jumbo Visma) at Hotondo, crossed Aude Quaremont and Paterberg together, and then found Thiuns' teammate Fred Wright at the run-in. the two had a close battle. They engaged, and Küng was left to rue the fact that he had not made one or two more turns.

"Eventually, I felt like I had something left in my leg," Kyung said. 'I made it back to the lights. With 10km to go, I knew I wasn't going to make the podium. I didn't want to run with these four guys because I wouldn't see them again.

"In the end, everything came back. I'm happy for Valentin. We had a great race as a team, but when you look at the final stretch, you think, "Oh, maybe everything was possible." ......

For Madouas, the podium marks a leap forward as a cobbled classic rider. The French rider has prioritized the Ardennes Classics since turning pro in 2018, but took advantage of a season reshuffled by the pandemic to test himself on cobbles for the first time in the fall of 2020.

He was 14th in Flanders that year and 39th last year, and he returned to form and attracted a great deal of attention last week. However, a podium at Monument would be a big step up.

"It's another level up and I want to fight for the win in this race. That will be one of my main goals for the future."

Maduas showed his skills on the cobbles of Flanders in the steepest part of the Koppenberg. He was able to keep up with Pogachar's destructive acceleration while many experienced Classics riders fell. Ten kilometers later in Aude Quaremont, Pogachar accelerated again and fell after a heated battle with Van Baar, Wright, and Maduas himself.

"It was no big deal," Maduas said. "At Kwaremont, I almost held on. It's just a little bit of experience and strength. It's still developing and I hope to be with them in two or three years.

Maduas continued past Paterberg, teaming up with Van Barle on the run-in to keep his podium hopes alive. At first it looked like there was only one chance for a podium finish, but Oudenaarde's gut-punch on the podium showed that the collaboration had worked.

"We said 'all in' to each other," Maduas said, "whether we finish third or fourth, we give it our all."

"When we started sprinting, I knew we could win. I got up to speed. I got ahead for a second, but then I started cramping and had to slow down.

As for Kühn, Maduas shared his disappointment. [To be honest, I'm a little disappointed in him as well. I think he had the legs to come forward and fight for the win. But again, it's the little things. That's racing. I'll be back."