Mathieu van der Poel had to accept a predominance of riders from Ineos Grenadiers in the Amstel Gold Race on Sunday. One of them, the Pole Michal Kwiatkowski, won. The Brabander from Alpecin-Fenix had to settle for fourth place. ‘Their performance was impressive, I wasn’t going to solve that on my own either.’
Last week, Van der Poel was still the best in the Tour of Flanders. “Last week I had some trouble getting myself going again. When I won ‘de Ronde’ two years ago, it was at the end of the season and I could enjoy it more. But I also know that this race just a little less. I was otherwise fine.”
Van der Poel was satisfied with his performance. “I wasn’t good enough to react to everything against all those lightweights. It’s also different from the cobblestone climbs in Flanders, which you can do seated. I really need a super day here to be able to win. Furthermore, I especially hope that the form remains that way, with a view to next week’s Paris-Roubaix. But you have no guarantees. It would be easy if you always win as the favorite.”