The world champion, dazzling on the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, returns on Sunday to the Amstel Gold Race, the only Dutch classic that he won in 2019.
Sunday morning, leaving Maastricht, the world champion, who will wear the rainbow jersey, will take all the spotlight. And there is a strong chance that the effect will continue well beyond, throughout the 253.6 kilometers, over the 33 climbs of this classic which precisely achieves a perfect junction between the Flandriennes and the Ardennaises that are Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne. Even if mechanically, the Amstel, of which this will be the 59th edition on Sunday, is related, by its geographical proximity and especially its characteristics, to the last two named.
In his current form, Mathieu Van der Poel has every chance of finding himself at the center of the game. What was true in the past is no longer relevant today. Indeed, if a runner wanted to shine on the Amstel and the two other Ardennaises which followed, he had to ignore the Flandriennes. Or else, he certainly risked finding himself broken down in the final of the Amstel, during the last accelerations which occur in the money time. How many runners have broken their legs in this attempt to go from one to the other, without succeeding…
But now, the new wave of all-terrain attackers has taken away all the old certainties in its wake. But more surely, it is especially worth noting that the extraordinary riders that are Tadej Pogacar, last winner of the Amstel (after winning last year in the Tour of Flanders and before subsequently winning the Flèche Wallonne…), and Mathieu Van der Poel are above all exceptions.
His third participation
When he won here in 2019, “MVDP” had triumphed in À Travers la Flandre, then finished fourth in the Tour of Flanders before winning the Flèche Brabançonne. In 2022, after winning his second Tour of Flanders, then finishing Paris-Roubaix in ninth place, he “failed” in fourth place (success of Michal Kwiatkowski ahead of Benoît Cosnefroy).
With an increasingly restricted program, since Sunday evening he will only be six days into the race, Van der Poel maintains an undeniable fresh edge. But above all physical abilities which allow him to tackle these spring classics with equal appetite, even if the Dutch coasts are not the Flemish mountains, they are close cousins here…
The only question that will arise concerns the oldest of the classics. Will it resist wear along the coasts of Liège-Bastogne-Liège, a bit longer, as a direct result more climbers, where the weight/power ratio is of all importance?
But we’re not there. And as Tadej Pogacar does not defend his property this Sunday in the Amstel, we do not see who, at first glance, could thwart the plans of the Dutch runner who will be celebrated with great fanfare on the slopes of the Cauberg, as throughout the course.
For one of his teammates?
But in fact, it is not certain that he is absolutely seeking to impose himself. From the moment in the ranks of the Alpecin-Deceuninck team a reliable element finds itself in position, it is a safe bet that the world champion will play it collectively, like what he had achieved for Jasper Philipsen in Milan – San Remo.
In this scenario, we would see a runner like the young Frenchman Axel Laurance or the Belgian puncher Quinten Hermans benefiting from it. The race, alone, will decide an outcome which promises to be a little more indecisive, to put it mildly, than the last Flandrians that Mathieu Van der Poel had dominated by attacking from afar (a model of the genre!) .
This time, and this is an observation that persists over the years when we move from the Flemish classics to these Ardennes classics and more precisely here in Limburg, the list of riders capable of winning is much larger.
See here runners like Benoît Cosnefroy, Michal Kwiatkowski (the executioner of the Frenchman in 2022), Tom Pidcock, Mattias Skjelmose, Matteo Jorgenson, Tiesj Benoot, Matej Mohoric, Ben Healy, Valentin Madouas, Marc Hirschi or better still Juan Ayuso To impose would not, in my opinion, be very surprising. There are still around twenty possible winners in store.
But for the showcase, sorry, Mathieu Van der Poel, after his series of two monuments in a row, Flanders and Roubaix, that would really look good! And this time, he doesn’t have to take out his guns sixty miles from the finish…
Jungles and Kluckers on the list, two Luxembourgish riders will be at the start
Even if Primoz Roglic is not at the start of the Amstel Gold Race (the Slovenian had fallen heavily twice on the Tour of the Basque Country and is not planned for Liège-Bastogne-Liège), Bob Jungels does not deviate to the program that was his. If it is difficult to judge precisely his level of form given the role he had with Primoz Roglic, we can nevertheless think that the former winner of Liège-Bastogne-Liège could shine if the opportunity presents itself .
Indeed, despite all his efforts at the head of the peloton, it seems that the Bora-Hansgrohe rider is in good condition. It is no longer marked as it was a few years ago. Why not, in these conditions, exploit the room for maneuver that will be his if the race puts him in a favorable situation?
In his team, Maximilian Schachmann, fifth here in 2019 then third in 2021, will undoubtedly be the leader.
As for Arthur Kluckers (Tudor), who prepared last week on the roads of Pays de la Loire, he ranked 42nd last year for his discovery of the Dutch classic. The Dane Alexander Kamp, 9th last year, will be the leader of the Swiss team.
D. B.
