Who knows what the riders thought of the Alpecin-Deceuninck feeling that Pogacar the point of attack to win theAmstel Gold Race their captain Mathieu Van der Poel suggested itThe Dutchman wasn't there today, because after his victory at Roubaix he took a break, but he found a way a couple of days ago to send a message to Slovenian, who evidently in his opinion would have needed help to defeat his rivals also in the master brewers' race.
«Mathieu Van der Poel he told me to speed up on the Keutenberg – Pogacar said after the finish – that was really the hardest climb and it suited me the most. When did he tell me? Three days ago, he sent me a message.. I will thank him for the advice."
A flat tire
After Flanders, Pogacar scores his eleventh victory of the season in Holland, applying to the letter what Van der Poel suggested to him and adding his own to the winning recipe. The breakaway that decided the race actually went away 90 kilometres from the finish, following a logic we should be used to by now, but which instead leaves us speechless every time. Then, when there were 39 kilometers to go, the Slovenian found himself with a flat tireHe cursed the absence of the team car, which was trapped in the rear. The bike change and the return to the front were, however, the prelude to the decisive attack.
“I didn’t expect to break away so quickly,” he commented, “and I continued with a flat tire for many kilometers. Luckily the wheel was losing pressure very slowly, but still I doubted that I would be able to reach the finish line.I finally made it. It was frustrating not having the flagship alongside me for so long, but fortunately we managed to change the bike just in time, before the final climbs."
Only Remco
On the eve the question that was circulating among the insiders concerned the Jumbo Visma and other squadrons. Why did Van Aert's team choose to do not bring either Roglic nor vingegaard, who are experiencing a great moment and are among the few who in the past have managed to oppose Pogacar? The answer provided by the Dutch team is that the first is preparing for the Giro, while the second does not have much experience in the classics.
Since eager rivals like Cosnefroy, Gaudu and Benoot gave up at the first attack (so 90 kilometres from the finish), waiting to test the condition of others such as Mas, Higuita and Vlasov, We'll have to figure out who will be able to challenge Pogacar in the next few days: perhaps Evenepoel. Remco too in fact is preparing the Giro, but he will not give up on Liège. In this way the clash between two schools becomes evidentThe most modern one (in terms of methods) of those who focus on specialization. And then the most unscrupulous one of champions who they accept challenges without hiding behind too many calculations, perhaps because they are aware of wider margins.
Lap of Honor
Pogacar launched the final attack with 36 kilometres to go on the Eyserbosweg, the climb of the Antenne, from which the race usually started in cycling in the pastHealy held his own well and continued at his own pace. Pidcock tried to fight back, but lasted 50 meters longer and then had to deal with heavier legs. Saving the podium from the comeback of Lutsenko and Kroon wasn't so easy.
Since that time The Amstel Gold Race turned into a lap of honour, like others already seen this spring. And if the advantage over Healy in the end was only 38 seconds, it is because Pogacar tackled the final climb of the Cauberg without overdoing it, perhaps thinking of saving his strength for the Flèche Wallonne and Liège.
«This season – he says leaving the Amstel with his press officer Luke McGuire – I'm living a dreamI don't know if it was stronger than when I won Flanders, because it was a completely different race, but I certainly felt good. This morning I was pretty frozen in the bad weather, but then I discovered I have good legsNow we're moving towards La Flèche and Liège. They told me that if I also won Liège I'd make history, but I think it's too early. We'll talk about it on Wednesday or Sunday, if anything."
