Another 24 hours, or a little more, and it will be Liège-Bastogne-Liège. We are already looking forward to the clash between Tadej pogacar e Mathieu Van der Poel. Of course, the Walloon route plays in favor of the Slovenian, but if the Dutchman had his Roubaix legs again (or still) then we would see sparks fly.
And it's precisely this point we want to emphasize. If yesterday during the reconnaissance we saw a lively Pogacar, we wonder how Van der Poel is really doing. How's his leg? Is he back or still very strong like in Roubaix, or is he stalling like we saw at the Amstel Gold Race? (puffing in the opening photo)?
We did an analysis together with Stefano Zanini. Today “Zazà” is one of the technicians of theAstana-Qazaqstan, but more than as a sports director, we brought him into the mix as a former rider. A former rider who knew how to ride fast at Roubaix and was very strong, even winning one, at the Amstel Gold Race.
Stefano, how is it possible that Van der Poel went from the “fantastic” leg he showed and declared he had at Roubaix to the “non-leg” of the Amstel in just seven days?
It's possible for the situation to change so dramatically even in a few days. And it's possible precisely because, as he himself said, he was having a great day at Roubaix, so he caught an exceptional peak. Maybe at that moment he didn't think he was wasting so much energy... but he was spending it indeed. And then we must not only consider Roubaix and the approach to Roubaix, but we must frame the whole thing in its Northern Campaign.
Can you explain further?
In the sense that the Dutchman has competed in all the important classics. And they were all races he aimed to win: these ultimately leave their mark. So this decline is understandable for me.
You've raced the Roubaix and know what it means for your muscles. Could those jolts, those constant "bumps," be more impactful than expected? Given that VdP dances on the cobblestones without gloves.
Even though he's incredibly strong, we're still talking about a human. It's only natural that he pays his dues too. The Roubaix somehow comes out of you after a few days, some more than others, but it comes out. As I said, these races, the classics, must be evaluated as a whole and are demanding races. As for gloves, there are many without them. I didn't even have sores on my hands. Ditto Boonen and Museeuw. It depends a lot on how you hold the bike and how tightly you grip the controls and handlebars, but that's a consequence of how you tackle the cobblestones.
What did you do in the days after Roubaix? For example, VdP returned to Spain after the Tour of Flanders, but is it the same thing to do it after the Flemish race as to do it after the French one?
Back then, the calendar was different. After Roubaix, there wasn't the Amstel, but there was the Flèche Wallonne and the GP Escaut, then Liège, and finally Amstel. I didn't go home then, but stayed in Belgium. I rode the Flèche and Liège in support of the captains, while Escaut and Amstel were the leaders. What happened if I stayed up in Belgium? First of all, you didn't train, but you just went out on your bike to loosen up, to recover that hour and a half, two at most, between one race and the next. You always had your masseur who, between workouts and massages, helped you a lot in your recovery. And third, if you were up there for the entire campaign, it meant you were feeling good, you were in good shape, and therefore you recovered quickly. The post-Roubaix massage was important for the legs, obviously, but also for the arms and back.
In Spain, VdP chose to relax by playing golf and training in the sun…
Yes, but I think at that level he certainly had his trusted masseur with him. And if he didn't have his own, he probably had a contact in Spain since he goes there often. I can't imagine he didn't get massages… after the Roubaix they are needed.
It would be naive, in short. And on a mental level? Van der Poel has actually scored his two biggest goals (Flanders and Roubaix, to be precise): could this affect his psychological approach?
This point of view is also valid, of course. The Amstel, even though it was the home race, already had it in the bag. And then he's human too, maybe he was thinking more about Liège. Mathieu spent a winter without road racing. He made his debut with the Sanremo and then rode his races with the goal of winning. So he was under pressure.
Do you think it could be a matter of pressure?
I say that you can be more or less motivated. He might even like the pressure, he gets motivated and handles it well. Also because If you win the races you set yourself, it means you can handle the pressure.
So maybe this duel with Pogacar can give him the right motivation again?
Van der Poel is very strong, but he's won races without long climbs, races with short sprints that require explosive efforts like those he uses in cross-country. At most, he won the Strade Bianche, but it's a special race, and the climbs are still short. Liège, on the other hand, is a different race. Yes, VdP may have had a mental decline at the Amstel, but physically I'm convinced he's still fine. He finally started racing at the Sanremo. His form is still at a high level.
In his only appearance at Liège, VdP boasts a sixth-place finish. But it must be said that was the peculiar Covid year...
The problem for him is that Pogačar is hard to beat on such terrain. He might finish ahead, but on the long climbs the Slovenian can make the difference. It will also depend on how the race goes. It's undoubtedly an interesting challenge. If they want to get rid of Van der Poel they have to make the race tough from kilometre 150, from Vielsam where the sequence of the cotes of: Monte le Soie, Wanne and Stockeu begins.
