A tough day for Mathieu van der Poel. The Dutchman, who finished only 22nd in the Amstel Gold Race, 11 seconds behind winner Tom Pidcock, admitted on Sunday that he “didn’t really have the legs” to win.
After outrageously dominating the “Flandriennes” (GP E3, Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix), the world champion arrived at the race as favorite but he was unable to achieve a fourth victory in a row. “You can’t win everything,” he said. “I didn’t really have the legs to play a role in the finale. The plan was to follow the best in the Keutenberg but I was trapped shortly before approaching this coast. »
Back in Spain to prepare Liège-Bastogne-Liège
“At the end, I still hoped to catch up with the leading group, but I think the strongest riders were in front,” continued the leader of the Alpecin-Deceuninck team. I rode a little defensively but I didn’t have the legs to ride very offensively either. It’s penalizing in this race. »
“Next week (in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Editor’s note), it will undoubtedly be even more difficult, because there will also be (Tadej) Pogacar,” he added. But I’m going to give everything, once again,” concluded “MVDP” who will return to Spain to best prepare for the Dean of Classics.
