Amstel Gold Race is perhaps the Netherlands' most important classic and is a special event for Adrie van der Poel who has won it in 1990. Mathieu van der Poel has now won it in 2019 and is looking to add a second triumph to his palmarès this Sunday.
“I only saw Mathieu today at breakfast, but I haven't spoken to him yet. It's a working day for him and I'm not going to disturb him," Adrie told L1 this morning. “I'm certainly not nervous yet and neither is Mathieu, I think. He has shown in recent weeks that he can live up to his favorite status, so he does not need to see that today."
The image coming through the Alpecin-Deceuninck camp is that of relaxation and focus. The team has won all three monuments so far, and over the past two weekends has put on very dominantly displays of power at both Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. A cyclocross expert, Mathieu is racing once a week in the same type of schedule, and with his very best form and lack of bad luck he's been taking very convincing wins.
Today he can do so again, although there is a lot of quality competition. Adrie van der Poel does warn for the amount of outsiders that can steal the spotlight today: “There are plenty of other contenders today, with Tom Pidcock or the men from Lidl-Trek, for example, but I must honestly say that I have not yet looked into the starting list. A lot of different riders are starting than in recent weeks.”
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Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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