Tadej Pogacar on Amstel Gold Race: “In the final you forget the climb is short”

Of the ‘Big Six’ who currently seem to be splitting the majority of the races, he is the only one in the Amstel Gold Race starting. This instantly makes Tadej Pogacar a top favorite in the Dutch WorldTour Classic. “However, this race will be difficult to win,” the best cyclist of this generation remains modest.

At 10:15 on Friday morning, Tadej Pogacar begins his exploration of the last 75 kilometers of the Amstel Gold Race. He doesn’t really remember much about his first and only participation in the mountainous landscapes of Limburg in 2019.

It rides smoothly on the climbs in front of the seven emirates. Where Mathieu Trentin still uses his Fromberg to get off the foot to the top of a climb, the two-time Tour de France winner needs no interval training on the slopes of Limburg.

“It’s still good,” he said a few hours later at a hotel in the Belgian border region not far from Maastricht. I took half an hour to do an interview cycling flash. Where we discuss the Amstel Gold Race with him here will be the personal part of the interview Summer issue of Ride magazine to appear. In that story, he also discusses his own relationship with James Bond…

But first, the Amstel Gold Race. “What a beautiful environment here,” he said at the beginning of the interview. “Of course the sunny weather we had during training makes the landscape even more beautiful. But the nature is beautiful and there are many beautiful houses. Everyone on the team talked about how beautiful the area is along the way.”

This is the second time Pogacar has started in the Amstel Gold Race. His only experience in the hills of Limburg ended with a healthy Tom Dumoulin-style pit stop in the Giro d’Italia. Tadej Pogakar would rather you not be reminded of him. But four years ago, his first encounter with the Dutch WorldTour classic had ended at minor rates. “Yes, I had to stop because of the diarrhea. It was impossible to do that.”

“The whole day I didn’t feel well and had problems with my stomach. That turned into diarrhoea. I had to pull over on the side of the road. That’s how my game ended that day. Although then I watched the last kilometers after the finish on the team bus. You don’t believe what Mathieu van der Pol did that today. I think this is still the best cycling moment I’ve ever seen on TV.”

Four years later, Pogacar’s Amstel Gold Race ambitions were evident. He would also like to add this classic to his comfort. “It’s a big race. It’s important that we start with a strong team. And yes, our goal is to win this match. But it won’t be easy. I expect a tough track.”

Six riders will leave a significant mark in racing this year. Tadej Pogacar, Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert, Primoz Roglic, Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel colored the races where they were at the start.

Tadezh Pogacar in conversation with WielerFlits reporter Raymond Kerkhoffs.

The fact that the 24-year-old Slovenian is the only one among the Big Six to start on Sunday at the Vrijthof in Maastricht doesn’t immediately make the race easier for him. Pogacar knows that many eyes will be on him. “But there are many dangerous competitors at the start. I never give a damn about opponents. I really look forward to this race and then see how the race unfolds.”

He doesn’t know the names of Limburg climbs from a distance. “There are a lot of them,” he apologizes. Although it is known that Keutenberg is the steepest, the Cauberg starts from Valkenburg and Bemelerberg is the last. “In recent years, I have watched the Amstel Gold Race on TV. It is always a tactical and interesting match.”

When asked if the climb was not too short, Pogacar answered in the affirmative. “It’s very short, yes, but the Amstel Gold Race is a long race with a lot of climbs. At the end everyone will be tired. Then you don’t really think about the fact that those climbs are short.”

After his victory in Flanders, he was able to focus again on the three classics he will be closing in this spring in the last week and a half in Monaco. “The hunger is still there. I did some good training in Monaco and I feel like the level is not up yet.”

Tadej Pogacar with his team on the plateau behind Keutenberg – Photo: Raymond Kerckhoffs

“I’m looking forward to the Amstel Gold Race and I’m really looking forward to it. It won’t be easy to win this match, but we start with ambitions. In any case, I want to keep the focus until it includes Liège-Bastogne-Liège.”

Although he is looking forward to the rest period after Liege. On February 13, the season started in Spain with the indoor Gian Paraiso, which he won outright. So far he has sixteen days of racing and a tally of ten victories, including the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Nice and Ruta del Sol.