Everyone knew it was seemingly bound to happen, yet Mathieu van der Poel exceeded the expectations with epic 60 km solo at Paris-Roubaix, adding second Monumental win within a week. In his CyclingNews blog, Fabian Cancellara, who still holds one extra Paris-Roubaix of advantage over the Dutch phenomenon now thinks that the Alpecin-Deceuninck leader should take his great legs to Liege-Bastogne-Liege and attempt to add the Ardennes race to his already outstanding palmares.
"I’m curious to see what will happen next because I don’t think Van der Poel’s Spring is over just yet. He’s in incredible form, so he should take the opportunity to try to do something even more special in the next two weeks. He’s expected to ride Amstel Gold Race, but I think he should also go and ride Liege-Bastogne-Liege."
"It’s worth trying, considering the form Mathieu is in. And now, with Remco Evenepoel definitely missing and possibly Primoz Roglic too, there is a big chance for Van der Poel to put in an impressive performance at Liège and maybe even to win it. Tadej Pogacar will be there, of course, but that could be a great battle."
"And don’t forget that Mathieu was already very good at Liege-Bastogne-Liege back in 2020, the only time he raced it. He finished sixth, taking the sprint just behind the winning group. The race is not outside his range. I know he has a big year with the Olympics to come as well, but this is a rare chance."