"Mathieu van der Poel told me to go on the Keutenberg" - Tadej Pogacar credits rival with race-winning piece of advice at Amstel Gold Race

Tadej Pogacar rode to an astonishingly dominant victory at the Amstel Gold Race and the Slovenian has revealed he must give credit to rival Mathieu van der Poel for a key piece of advice that helped secure him the win.

"Mathieu van der Poel told me to go on the Keutenberg," the UAE Team Emirates star revealed in his post-race interview. "It is the toughest climb and suits me the best. He texted me three days ago. I'll send him another thank you," Pogacar said with a smile.

“I rode with a kind of flat tire for a long time. I really doubted if I could make it solo. I squeezed everything to get to the finish, I made it," Pogacar said who's stunning change of pace following his bike change saw him obliterate everyone but Tom Pidcock and Ben Healy who managed to hold on for a little while before then later being dropped themselves. “We were without cars for so long. I was able to get a new bike just in time for the last hills. It all came very close, I was very nervous."

“I just pulled forward, I saw that there were a lot of good riders. I made the jump so my teammates didn't have to do anything. Anyway, we were in a good situation," concluded the Slovenian.