"If Mathieu wants to be able to win Liege-Bastogne-Liege, it’s now" - Tom Boonen believes van der Poel won't get a better chance to add Liege to monument tally

In the quest to win all five of cycling's monuments, the race analysts fear will be most difficult for Mathieu van der Poel is Liege-Bastogne-Liege. According to Classics legend Tom Boonen though, this year could be as big of a chance as the Dutchman will ever get. 

“If Mathieu wants to be able to win Liège-Bastogne-Liège, it’s now. The conditions available to him today will probably never come back,” Boonen, a seven-time monument winner in his own right, analyses in conversation with Sporza.

The reason for Boonen's 'now or never' attitude? The vast number of potential winners set to miss out on this year's edition due to injury, including the likes of Remco Evenepoel and Wout van Aert. "Among his biggest opponents, only Tadej Pogacar remains, because the others will not be present in Liège due to injuries,” Boonen explains.

"You shouldn't underestimate the other riders either, of course," the 43-year-old Belgian concludes. "But in principle, Mathieu is at least as good as these riders."