Adrie van der Poel sees podium was maximum available for his son Mathieu van der Poel at Liege-Bastogne-Liege: "I think he got the most out of it"

With third place, Mathieu van der Poel's Liege-Bastogne-Liege doesn't look all that bad as this is the Dutchman's career high at the Belgian Monument. However his father Adrie van der Poel sees opportunities to progress even further up the result sheet at 'La Doyenne' in the future.

After being dropped on the Côte de la Redoute, Mathieu managed to sprint to the podium. "I think this is a boost. I haven't spoken to him, but given the situation and the course of the race, I think he got the most out of it," he told WielerFlits after the race, where Mathieu got involved in a crash which forced him to chase for a while.

"It's a shame he fell behind, that takes a lot of strength. On the very steep parts you cannot follow the best climbers, but on the flat parts you see that a lot is still possible. He still had a lot of strength, and he could also do well in the sprint. I would look back on it positively if I were him," said the winner of the 1988 edition of the race.

How does Adrie see the chances of his son to win the race one day? "Ultimately it is a choice you have to make: am I going to do less of what I am good at in order to win this race? I think a lot is possible, especially in this weather, the real climbers will break down and riders with body will rise to the top. I would not give up the ambition," concluded Adrie van der Poel.