"What matters is the big duel on Sunday against Pogacar and Seixas" - Sergeant praises Evenepoel after his victory in the Amstel Gold Race but sends a warning

Remco Evenepoel claimed victory at the Amstel Gold Race, but one of the defining talking points of Sunday’s race came long before the finish line, when Kévin Vauquelin and Matteo Jorgenson crashed in the run-in to the Eyserbosweg.

The incident ended Jorgenson’s Ardennes campaign and reshaped the race dynamic, while Evenepoel stayed clear of trouble and powered on to victory. Former team manager Marc Sergeant offered his verdict to Het Nieuwsblad, focusing both on the decisive crash and the impressive tactical display from Evenepoel’s team.

From the opening kilometres, Soudal Quick-Step controlled the race with authority, steadily raising the pace before splitting the field. Sergeant said the strategy strongly resembled the blueprint often used by UAE Team Emirates - XRG around Tadej Pogacar.

“Tadej Pogacar and UAE clearly have a few followers now. Red Bull rode the Amstel entirely according to the Pogacar tactic.”

He explained the similarities in detail. “Control from the start, then midway through the race such a high pace that riders were dropped from the back, and Remco, à la Pogacar, constantly indicating where his team had to accelerate, this was exactly the kind of racing we know from UAE. Let me be clear: I say that as a big compliment. Because you still have to be able to do it.”

Evenepoel’s authority in the finale impressed Sergeant, who admitted he initially questioned the Belgian’s aggressive approach.

“At first I feared it might be overconfidence from Evenepoel. Why ride so eagerly on the front? Why always go full gas? Skjelmose had already beaten him last year. But in the end it turned out not to be overconfidence, but pure self-knowledge.”

Sergeant also pointed to the crash involving Kévin Vauquelin and Matteo Jorgenson as a pivotal moment.

“The fall of Vauquelin and Jorgenson just before the Eyserbosweg was a key moment. Whether it would have changed the result, I don’t know. But if those two stay upright, we one hundred percent get a different finale. Then after the Eyserbosweg we probably don’t have a front group of three, but maybe five or even six riders. Cosnefroy was also delayed because of Vauquelin’s crash.”

The location of the crash did not surprise him. Sergeant knows the section well and described it as highly deceptive.

“I know those bends just before the Eyserbosweg. It’s a very tricky left-right combination. But above all, it feels completely different in reconnaissance than it does in the race. During recon you take those corners in normal traffic, so you naturally brake and the speed is much lower.”

In race conditions, speeds are far higher, making mistakes much easier.

“In the race you’re closer to sixty kilometres per hour. That’s a world of difference. Then a judgement error happens quickly. That’s what happened to Vauquelin, he loses a few metres, tries to accelerate back, and slides out. Is that a lack of course knowledge? It’s mainly the difference between reconnaissance and racing.”

With La Flèche Wallonne approaching, Sergeant was less convinced Evenepoel should add another race to his schedule before Sunday’s showdown at Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

“I’m less convinced about that. He undoubtedly has the ability to win on the Mur de Huy, but if it risks taking even a little freshness away before Liège, I wouldn’t do it.”

For Sergeant, Wednesday’s result would matter little compared to what comes next.

“We will judge Evenepoel on his performance in Liège-Bastogne-Liège far more than on his result in La Flèche Wallonne. A poor day in Liège and a win in Wallonne will soon be forgotten. What matters is the big duel on Sunday against Pogacar and, who knows, Seixas. That has to be his priority.”