Maxime van Gils has fully recovered from the extreme case of Flèche Wallonne: “I want to be one step ahead of the real explosion in Liège”

interview Maxim Van Gils is one of the favorites in Liège-Bastogne-Liège. The young Belgian strengthened this position by finishing third in the Flèche Wallonne race on Wednesday. “In Liège, we will not focus only on Mathieu van der Poel,” the Lotto Dstny leader said at a press conference. Cycling.

How did you survive the cold during yesterday's race?
“we have to Credits Really give to the team. They assessed the situation well and informed us in a timely manner. As a result, we had already worn our rain jackets beforehand. The first rain showers didn't bother us, so we stayed dry. I also wore a lot of clothes from the beginning. That really helped me. “As a Belgian, I am used to racing in such conditions.”

Do you feel that you have recovered from those harsh conditions?
“Well actually yes. Yesterday I took a hot bath after the match and in the evening I went to the sauna and hot tub with Sylvain (Moniquet, editor). This way my body can completely warm up again. This morning I no longer feel anything. We have already done a reconnaissance.” On Sunday my legs felt good.

Do you think it will still affect Sunday's race, perhaps for other riders?
“It's probably more difficult for people who rode on Wednesday. I kept driving and that made me feel a little warm. I was cold, but I wasn't freezing like people like Matthias Skilmoz.”

How will you handle it tactically on Sunday?
“First of all, we will have to do well in the semifinals. The race opened early last year on Wanne. I expect them to start again fairly quickly this year. Then many servants will have to leave school early and will stay Only favorites. This will be the right moment for Andreas (Krone, editor) or me to join a small group and that way we can avoid the real explosion and then hopefully we will be there after the redirection.”

Van Gils finished on the podium at Strade Bianche – Photo: Cor Vos

“It might be a good idea to stay away from Tadej Pogacar's attack. Last year we saw what Jan Tratnik predicted and it came pretty far. The stretch after the redirection will be against the wind this year, which will slow down a possible attempt. If the wind is better, it will be appropriate Starting a Redoute with a group of three to four men with a slight lead if they then continue to Redoute behind that group, you will still be in trouble at the top.”

The CEO of Dstny has expressed some criticism towards you. He said that maybe you shouldn't follow Mathieu van der Poel so hard and that you should basically lead your own race. How do you see it yourself?
“I didn't read that statement. But of course Amstel is a completely different path to Liège. In Liège you can't just focus on Mathieu, in Amstel we had the right to do that. It made sense after his performances in Flanders and Roubaix. The expectation was that he would try to do better.” Great effort on one of the climbs, on the other hand, it wouldn't have been good if he attacked anyway, and we wouldn't have raced the way we raced.”

How important is this new victory to you after achieving a number of honors?
“It's always nice to be able to put your hands in the air for the peloton. That's my big goal this year. It's going to be tough on Sunday, it's a very big match with a lot of big names. But I'll definitely try.”