“I love the Ardennes" - Tadej Pogacar looking to kick off important week with win at Amstel Gold Race

The Ardennes classics are back in what is a very special Sunday. The cobbled classics are now fully behind us and the peloton moves on to the Ardennes, where today Tadej Pogacar starts off as the main favourite for the Amstel Gold Race.

“I love the Ardennes. I haven't done the Amstel in recent years, but it's nice to include this race in my program again," Pogacar said in an interview with CyclingPro.net this morning at the start. "It is a very technical and hectic race. Left, right, up and down, very fast and with short climbs. But I think we have a good team to stay up front and fight for positions."

The Dutch race today is quite open, with dozens of explosive climbs but also many flat roads. Tactics are usually crucial in this race, which is not to the favour of the Slovenian who usually thrives on his climbing capacity. However it is not to discount that he may anticipate dangerous attacks and form the winning move himself.

Asked about which should be the crucial moments of the race, the Slovenian responded: “The last climbs. I know them, but I'm not going to try to pronounce them. My pronunciation of the climbs is not very good, so it's better if I don't say anything."