Aerodynamics expert estimates "a total time gain of somewhere between ten and twenty seconds" for Tadej Pogacar due to car slipstream at Amstel Gold Race

With much debate being had over the controversial positioning of the race directors car at the Amstel Gold Race and whether or not Tadej Pogacar gained an unfair advantage from it, an aerodynamic professor has now given his expert opinion.

“In the final, he was able to ride close behind the car of the course management and a motorcycle for at least two minutes, a distance that varied between ten and forty meters,” says professor of aerodynamics at KU Leuven, Bert Blocken to Knack. “That gave him at least a ten second advantage. The most prudent estimate, because Pogacar was not always in the picture. So I estimate a total time gain of somewhere between ten and twenty seconds.”

If Blocken's estimates are indeed correct, then little impact was made in the grand scheme of things as the UAE Team Emirates leader crossed the finish line with an advantage of thirty-eight seconds over second-placed rider Ben Healy.

“And then you have to add that penultimate passage at the finish, where the car of race director Leo van Vliet drove barely ten meters behind Pogacar. This is an advantage because the car partly removes the underpressure behind the rider," Professor Blocken continues. "In that case, the following also applies: the smaller the distance between the cyclist and the car, the greater the 'trailer effect'. This also allowed Pogacar to cycle faster for a few seconds.”