“I am realistic enough that I cannot win everything”: Mathieu van der Poel does not have a super day in Amstel Gold Race and finishes outside the top twenty

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“I indeed didn’t have super legs,” Mathieu van der Poel said afterwards. “In general we didn’t do too badly with the team. Perhaps we are short of someone for the intermediate section between the Fromberg and the Keutenberg, where everyone attacked in pieces. I made a tactical choice there, because if I attacked, the rest would jump along anyway. If you put your cards on the table too early here, you will be punished anyway. Moreover, I didn’t have the great legs to close everything. We kept the pace high afterwards and I hoped we would come back, but the front runners were at the front for a reason. They were just the strongest.”

So no new victory for Alpecin-Deceuninck. “The matches that have already passed were our specialty, and you cannot expect to win prizes every weekend. There is simply a greater chance that you will lose than that you will win. This is also a different type of race with a different type of riders. I am realistic enough that I cannot win everything.”

Next week Mathieu van der Poel will conclude the classic part in Liège-Bastogne-Liège. “A certain Tadej Pogacar also rides there,” noted the world champion. “Next week is still a big goal and I’m going to give it another go anyway. I’m leaving for Spain today to rest a bit this week and enjoy the good weather.”

READ ALSO. VIDEO. No super legs, but impressive: Mathieu van der Poel unexpectedly receives a water bottle for the wheels and calmly jumps over it