Tiesj Benoot on Tadej Pogacar: "He is the top favorite everywhere, even if he had started in Roubaix"

On the eve of Amstel Gold Race Tiesj Benoot, third in the 2022 edition, has talked about his role leading into the race together with Attila Valter and Tadej Pogacar who is on the account of many riders the man to beat.

“In the Flemish classics, the climbs without cobbles, such as the Côte de Trieu, are the best for me and the Amstel is actually the Tour of Flanders without cobbles. The slopes in Dutch Limburg are even shorter, less than two minutes," Benoot told Het Laatste Nieuws. "As fresh as I feel now, I hope to ride the final and preferably with a teammate. In this way, Ineos was also able to outplay Pidcock and Kwiatkowski last year and win.”

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The Belgian is looking to surprise in the race, together with Attila Valter. The two worked together at Strade Bianche, riding into third and fifth on the day. However the apparent lack of communication between the two saw none fight for the victory. “In the Strade Bianche, Attila and I made mistakes. We were among the five best in the race and then it is a shame that you finish third and fifth," Benoot acknowledged.

“However, our team has a culture of debriefing. After each course, things are immediately named and discussed," the 29-year old revealed. "The Dutch way of working. I prefer that. You first get some extra salt in the wound, but then the wound dries out faster. Attila and I have worked that out. Nothing stuck.”

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Now after a successful spring Benoot finds himself again in a leading position with the Dutch team. Perhaps the Ardennes race that suits him the least out of the three, but the short climbs will see Benoot as an outsider. Asked about Tadej Pogacar who's been riding a very strong spring and is the main favourite in Limburg tomorrow, he answered:

“Definitely one, maybe two. If Remco does not participate, Pogacar will be the only one with three stars. He is the top favorite everywhere, even if he had started in Roubaix. With Hirschi in support, he also has a team to carry the course. Under Pogacar you have five riders with two stars, including Pidcock, Cosnefroy and possibly me.”

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Benoot also agrees that despite not taking a victory at Paris-Roubaix and Tour of Flanders, Jumbo-Visma's spring was a success. Benoot himself won Kuurne . Bruxelles - Kuurne, satisfying his personal goals, specially on his second race day after recovering from very serious injuries.

“We shouldn't be silly about that: we would like to exchange two won classics for the Ronde of Roubaix, but we can also be proud of the way we raced, that we collected by far the most UCI points this spring and five of the seven cobbled classics, but there is still room for improvement by next year," he concluded.

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