Tadej Pogachar's only entry in the 2019 Amstel Gold Race ended prematurely, and by the time Mathieu van der Pol launched a dramatic late fightback to claim victory, the Slovenian was already back on the UAE Team Emirates bus and watching the race on TV.

"We had to stop for a nature break. We still had 10km to go to the finish," Pogachar told NOS (open in new tab). "It was worth not finishing the race to see the finish. I think it was the best experience I've ever had as a spectator."

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With Pogachar's second Amstel Gold Race appearance this Sunday, race director Leo van Fleet said that UAE Team Emirates manager Mauro Gianetti was interested in acquiring van der Pol from Alpecin Deceuninck last year. He claimed that he had expressed an interest in acquiring van der Pol from Alpecin Deceuninck last year.

Van der Poel, who finished second behind Pogachar in the Tour de Flanders between his victories in Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix, is under contract with Alpecin-Desseuninck until the end of 2025.

"If we could have him in the team, I think it would be spectacular," Pogachar told a Dutch television station.

Despite finishing fourth in the Amstel Gold Race a year ago, van der Pol has decided not to run in 2023, but Pogachar will leave Maastricht on Sunday as the leading contender to win.

Pogachar will also run Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège next week, but he told Wielerflits (open in new tab) that his thirst for success this spring was not satisfied by wins in the Tour de Flanders and Paris-Nice.

"The hunger is still there," he said. I trained well in Monaco and I feel the fitness of the last few weeks hasn't gone away yet." I'm looking forward to the Amstel Gold Race and really looking forward to it. It will not be easy to win this race, but I will start with ambition. In any case, I want to stay focused until Liège - Bastogne - Liège."

Pogachar scouted the course of the Amstel Gold Race on Friday afternoon and found that the race, with its 33 hills, was almost identical to his memory of his botched debut four years ago.

"It's complicated, left and right, lots of ups and downs, long and unpredictable. It's a fun race," Pogachar told NOS. 'I don't know the name of the hill. We explored it on Friday. It's super steep."

Pogachar carefully checked out the final climbs of Cauberg and Bemeleberg. He said, "We climbed it twice with the team. This time, Pogachar would not be watching them from the bus.