Mathieu van der Poel was the resounding favorite to win Amstel Gold Race, however the world champion was unable to duplicate the extent of efficiency that carried him to victory on the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix and E3 Harelbeke in latest weeks.
Even when the successful transfer carried a lead of virtually 40 seconds into the ultimate lap of the ending circuit, all eyes have been on Van der Poel, who pulled off a exceptional comeback to win this race on his debut in 2019.
There was no Houdini act this time, and Van der Poel rolled residence within the chasing bunch in twenty second place, 11 seconds down on winner Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers).
For a lot of the day, Van der Poel’s Alpecin-Deceuninck squad had patrolled affairs on the head of the peloton, however the Dutchman was left somewhat remoted when the successful transfer of a dozen riders began to take form over the Eyserbosweg and Fromberg.
“It was a tricky race. I did not really feel tremendous, however I used to be okay,” Van der Poel advised NOS. “My plan was to recover from the Keutenberg with the very best riders, however they rode away earlier than. That’s a bit unlucky, however general, we did properly.”
Van der Poel had hinted at his power by leaping on a transfer from Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) excessive of the Eyserbosweg with 35km to go, however he didn’t react when Marc Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates) pressed clear quickly afterwards, nor did he monitor Pidcock’s subsequent counter-attack.
“I did not have the legs to react to all the pieces, so I needed to gamble. And that may be punished on this race,” Van der Poel mentioned, in keeping with Sporza.
“It was in fact a troublesome scenario, so you need to make some selections. If I leap, the opposite riders instantly leap on my wheel.”
Van der Poel additionally pointed to the variations between racing on the cobbles and racing amid the litany of hills on Amstel’s twisting route round Limburg.
“This is a unique form of race than in latest weeks, with a unique form of riders. We have carried out very properly as a crew, however on this course, you need to gamble,” mentioned Van der Poel, who acknowledged that he had consciously determined to race extra defensively right here. “I additionally did not have the legs to trip very offensively. That may very well be punished on this race.”
Van der Poel confirmed, nevertheless, that he’ll proceed his Classics marketing campaign till Liège-Bastogne-Liège subsequent Sunday, the place Tadej Pogačar will line up as the plain favorite. It might be Van der Poel’s second look in La Doyenne after he positioned sixth on his debut within the pandemic-delayed version of 2020.
“I’m life like sufficient to know that you just can’t win all the pieces. Next week, it is perhaps much more troublesome, however we’re going to give all the pieces yet another time,” mentioned Van der Poel.
“After that, I can relaxation. I’m now leaving for Spain to benefit from the good climate and put the ultimate touches.”
