“The batteries have been recharged" - Mathieu van der Poel 'convinced' winning is possible at Liege-Bastogne-Liege

Having already guaranteed himself a successful spring with victories at the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, it's easy to assume there is little pressure on Mathieu van der Poel heading into Liege-Bastogne-Liege. Don't be mistaken however, the world champion will be there to win.

“The batteries have been recharged. Due to the predicted bad weather conditions in my own country, I chose to fly to Spain on Sunday evening. There I was able to complete a few good training sessions in recent days in relation to my last goal this spring," van der Poel says in an Alpecin-Deceuninck press release. "On Thursday afternoon I returned to Belgium to explore the La Doyenne final with my teammates on Friday, but in the end, I decided against it. The weather forecasts were too bad. Now, even though my last participation was in 2020, I know most of the roads and slopes.”

Although, as mentioned, van der Poel has had a very successful spring, a quiet performance last time out at the Amstel Gold Race was a notable difference. “To be clear, last Sunday's poorer result did not make me doubt my good form over the past few weeks. No, I didn't have super legs in the Amstel Gold Race, but I wasn't really bad either," van der Poel explains. " However, because my spring was already successful anyway, I could afford to gamble a bit in the final. That didn't turn out as hoped. But the best riders in the race were at the front and Tom Pidcock was the more than deserved winner.”

“As I said, I think the condition is still good enough to play a significant role in Liège-Bastogne-Liège," he continues. "And I'm not just talking about myself, but also about my teammates. The results don't show it, but I saw a strong Axel Laurance, Quinten Hermans and Soren Kragh Andersen in the Fleche Wallonne. I think that with this quality in the team we should be able to do something great.”

The big question is though, can van der Poel live with Tadej Pogacar on the climbs? “We saw in Strade Bianche that Tadej doesn't need competition to be in top form straight away. A pure class rider who will race on his favourite terrain on Sunday and who has a strong team around him," van der Poel praises. The world champion also notes Pogacar won't be the only challenger however. "There's Tom Pidcock . I also think of Richard Carapaz, Tiesj Benoot, Mattias Skjelmose, Maxim Van Gils, Dylan Teuns, you name it… All guys who have proven in the past week that they are in good shape and that on paper they are better climbers than myself.”

“Yet winning is possible,” Van der Poel concludes. “If I wasn't convinced of that, I wouldn't participate. But it will all have to fall into place just a little more than in the Flemish classics. We're going to try anyway. One more blast before I take some rest again. As said, our spring was a success. Everything that will be added on Sunday is more than just icing on the cake.”