"What can you say? Alien, almost" - Bauke Mollema stunned by Mathieu van der Poel's spring campaign and believes he can win Liège-Bastogne-Liège

Liège-Bastogne-Liège will see a battle of titans as Tadej Pogacar and Mathieu van der Poel take to the start to fight for victory. After his incredibly dominant wins at the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, more and more riders

"The level across the board is very high and there are also riders like Van der Poel and Evenepoel who stand out a bit. It's just going really fast, you really have to be in top form in all races to be able to participate at all from the front," Mollema said in the Het Wiel podcast. "That's not as easy as it used to be. If you are a few percent less, you will notice it immediately." The Lidl-Trek rider knows it well, having finished in the Tour de France podium in the past but finding nowadays a peloton riding at a superior speed.

His compatriot Mathieu van der Poel is one of the few riders who headlines the rise of level over the past few years. "What can you say? Alien, almost. As the Netherlands we can be proud of someone like Van der Poel. It's almost becoming normal how he wins those Monuments and he's not that old yet, so maybe he can continue like this for a while..."

After winning Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix with relative ease over the competition, he is the main favourite for Amstel Gold Race and if he wins again he will certainly be highly regarded to match even Tadej Pogacar at Liège-Bastogne-Liège. "If he is really great, he can certainly win Liège. The climbs are a bit longer; efforts from one or two minutes to five minutes. That's something else, with a tough race he might have a little more trouble there. But I wouldn't be surprised if he succeeds."

With great form and love over the long distance races, it seems as if van der Poel's level keeps increasing - although he rates his form at last year's World Championships as his best ever. "He has also finished in the top ten in Lombardia, although that was during the corona year, when the focus for others was slightly different than in other years. It's going to be very difficult, but you really don't know with that man," Mollema hints.

However the Dutchman doesn't believe Van der Poel is the only rider who could match Pogacar under ideal conditions. "Just like Van Aert, if they focused on it," he says as an example. "Van Aert can also ride as fast uphill if he focuses on it in the Tour de France. Who knows!'