Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) is on a profitable comeback after a winter spent recovering from a advanced shoulder damage, profitable De Brabantse Pijl on Friday and ending third in a three-way dash in opposition to winner Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) and runner-up Tadej Pogačar (UAE Staff Emirates-XRG) at Amstel Gold Race on Sunday – a race he mentioned he might have gained had he not crashed mid-race.
“I’ve blended emotions. Optimistic, as a result of I’ve come from very far. It is just my second day of racing, and I can come again on the strongest man of the second. That’s motivating, as a result of that had not occurred but,” Evenepoel mentioned in a post-race interview with Sporza.
“I believe I began the dash a bit too early. There was a headwind, and possibly I ought to have gone extra to the best, however I’m not a sprinter, and I don’t dare to search for edges.
“They didn’t come over by a lot. They solely took half a motorcycle. If I waited one other 50 metres … With out that fall, I’d have gained the race.”
Evenepoel was concerned in a crash with about 100km to go, which additionally concerned a number of the different race favourites, with Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Thibau Nys (Lidl-Trek) reportedly coming down as effectively. They had been all rapidly again on their bikes and again within the peloton.
“I needed to chase for at the least 30 kilometres, after which there was a crash with my very own teammate Pepijn Reinderink. It was very hectic on these slim roads, left, proper and up and down,” Evenepoel mentioned.
“I’ve to push 100 watts extra to come back again. In a race like this, you pay for it in money. If I can save that vitality, I might maybe assault on the Cauberg or attempt to journey away by myself. However that will likely be for subsequent yr.”
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Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor) kicked issues off with an assault on the Gulperberg, and Pogačar was the one one to observe earlier than the world champion then went clear on his personal on the Kruisberg, nonetheless greater than 40km from the end.
A chase group fashioned behind with most of the main gamers, however in the end it was Skjelmose who gained a large hole over the Keutenberg. He was later joined by Evenepoel, who ended up doing the lion’s share of the work to shut the 30-second hole and reconnect with Pogačar with 8km to go.
“I used to be stunned in itself. I felt good, even after the crash, I used to be not on the restrict,” Evenepoel mentioned, after being initially unsure that he would have the ability to shut the hole to Pogačar.
Evenepoel then led the trio onto the enduring ending straight in Berg en Terblijt, and he sprinted from the entrance, however Pogačar nonetheless had sufficient left within the tank to energy round him – each caught off-guard when Skjelmose kicked previous them to steal the victory.
He mentioned he was glad with ending third, even when he felt that the crash hampered his race and that he began his dash too quickly. He additionally felt that his efficiency gave him some further confidence forward of Liège-Bastogne-Liège, a race he gained in 2022 and 2023.
“It’s particularly good that Tadej was introduced again. That may give him some doubts. Usually, he’s the quickest of the three, however he was nonetheless overwhelmed. We had been all three on the restrict,” Evenepoel mentioned. “I cannot make the identical mistake in Liège.”
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