'It's a difficult task, but we will try' - Mathieu van der Poel and others predict tough Liège-Bastogne-Liège

Original source (on modern site) | Article images: [1]

Clock

09:09, Sunday 21st April 2024

The last of the Spring Classics and packed full of climbing, Liège-Bastogne-Liège is always a hard day out, but the peloton are expecting an even tougher race on Sunday with riders waking up to snow and cold temperatures in the Belgian Ardennes. Add into that the fierce competition in both the men's and women's fields, and it looks like two very challenging races are coming today.

In the men's race, Tadej Pogačar is the big favourite, but many are expecting a duel with Mathieu van der Poel as he seeks to add to his impressive Monuments tally. Defending champion Demi Vollering will be hopeful in the women's race, but she has some tough competition around her in the form of Elisa Longo Borghini and Kasia Niewiadoma, plus a possibly dark horse in her own teammate Lotte Kopecky.

With the men's race underway and the women's race soon to start, here is what some of the riders had to say ahead of the culmination of the Spring Classics.

Read more: Liège-Bastogne-Liège: 10 riders to watch

Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck)

Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix winner Mathieu van der Poel is in a unique position this weekend, as a win at Liège would mark his third Monument victory in a row this year, and the fourth different Monument win of his career. However, despite his seriousness around the attempt, he's also realistic about his chances as a non-climber on such a climb-heavy course.

"I weigh more than 75kg, unfortunately. There is a difference in weight, but every race has to be ridden and you never know what will happen," he told Het Nieuwbslad. "It is a difficult task to continue after those cobbled Classics. But we will try it this year and then we can still see whether we can put everything on Liège in the coming years.

"I have quite a few clothes on so it's okay for now, but I hope it doesn't start raining because then it will immediately get a lot chillier. They indicate very cold temperatures at the highest points today, but we have enough clothes on so that should be possible."

Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek)

The cold weather was a big topic of conversation at the start, particularly for Mattias Skjelmose, who was one of the worst affected by the temperatures in Flèche Wallonne on Wednesday.

Read more: Mattias Skjelmose carried from bike as only 44 riders finish wet, cold Flèche Wallonne

"I'm going to start with about five layers and probably finish with one," he told Het Nieuwsblad. "I have fully recovered from Wednesday. This is my favourite Classic. That Pogačar is here? That means he is the big favourite. And me? I'm also one of the favourites. But Pogačar is still a class better and I respect that."

Demi Vollering (SD Worx-Protime)

In the women's race, the favourite status is slightly less defined, but defending champion Demi Vollering will certainly be up there, alongside Elisa Longo Borghini and Kasia Niewiadoma, whilst her teammate Kopecky is also not hiding her ambitions in her first Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

"I want to win tomorrow," Vollering said during the team presentation. "I really wanted to win La Flèche Wallonne on Wednesday too. Last year I was equally eager to win Liège, because I had a special chance to win all three Ardennes classics. I think the pressure was higher last year. We have a really strong team. Together with Lotte we can do a really nice finale."

Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime)

"I mainly want to have fun," Kopecky told Sporza. "But I'll see how I feel after a long spring. If I have good legs, I want to show them in the final. I'm definitely thinking about winning. But again: we have to wait and see what is left in the tank. If that is not enough, then I know what my job is."

Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek)

"Liège is one the most beautiful races of the year. I chose to skip Paris-Roubaix this year with the aim of being in the best possible shape in the Ardennes classics, and particularly here in La Doyenne. Cycling is so competitive nowadays that it has become a matter of choices. You need to decide what your targets are and accept to sacrifice other events that you might want to enter. Otherwise, you risk ending up racing too much and scoring too little."

Read more: 'It is horrific' - Elisa Longo Borghini prepares for tough test at Liège-Bastogne-Liège

Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM)

"It will be a survival race. In every edition some extra climbs are added to the course, and this year's is definitely one of the hardest ever. The racing will be very intense as well as it's the last of the Ardennes classics - the last chance for everyone. I'm not going to lie. We have a clear goal, which is winning. Besides me, we have Elise [Chabbey] or Soraya [Paladin], who can sprint from reduced groups. We are ready to fight and race with no fear whatsoever."

Simon Yates (Jayco AlUla)

As well as the favourites and riders who have been performing throughout the spring, some more pure climbers are dropping in for Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and can count themselves as perhaps outsiders for the victory.

"I've had a small training camp after the last races that I did. I'm hoping for a decent performance," Simon Yates said. "You never know with the cold weather, it's different to what you've been training in, so we'll see how that goes. This is one of the biggest races that we do, and it's one of the only Monuments that I'll have a chance to win. It's an important race. The competition will always be tough but we'll give it a go today, and see what happens. I've not raced here for a long time, so I don't really know how the race flows, that's a difficult part of the race. That's a bit of a disadvantage but we'll give it a go."

Bob Jungels (Bora-Hansgrohe)

2018 winner in Liège Bob Jungels will be hoping his expertise here gives him more of an advantage.

"It's always special to come back to a big race that you've won in the past. Liege is always special for me because it's super close to Luxembourg, so I know there will be many supporters on the road. I am hopefully here to show a good performance. We have one really big favourite with Tadej and we'll have to see how the race unfolds. We're expecting a hard race."

George Bennett and Derek Gee (Israel-Premier Tech)

Winners of La Flèche Wallonne through Stevie Williams on Wednesday, Israel-Premier Tech have some confidence going into this race and a few cards to play, including Derek Gee who is returning from injury.

Bennett: "I feel really good. I felt really good on Wednesday, and obviously, it was a special race with the weather that came with and it's the best ever form I've had going into Liege. I've only raced it twice and one time I didn't ride my bike for a month before I came and the other time I was sick, so I'm excited to be here in good shape. We have Dylan [Teuns] and Stevie, so I'll be helping them but it's a race that suits me well. It's long and it's hard, with lots of climbing, and it's always good for me when it's like that. We have to play the numbers with Dylan and Stevie in the final. Everyone knows the critical points, so we have to win the little battles for positioning and then have the legs."

Gee: "I'm feeling good, slowly building after the crash. I went and raced Il Giro d'Abruzzo, and I'm slowly finding my legs again. It's a really good position to be in with all these guys [on the team] who can fight for it. Obviously we have Stevie who is flying as everyone saw on Wednesday. It'll be tough but my job is to bring them in safely to the hard parts and then it's on them to figure it out. It's been a bit of a scramble to learn this course, I've never raced Liege before, but I think that the guys who will be at the pointy end of this race on our team, you have Jakob who has raced it 13 times. I've just spent the week learning the names of the climbs and where they happen."