In a last hurrah to close out the spring classics, Mathieu Van Der Pol returned from a four-day trip to warm Spain and vowed to "give it all again" in Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

The Dutch rider will be looking for his third Monument win of the season and seventh of his career after winning the Tour de Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. It is not only a 259km battle of attrition in the hills of eastern Belgium, including 11 mountainous sections with a height difference of 4,100m, but also a second showdown with two-time Tour de France winner Tadej Pogachar (UAE Team Emirates), who won for the second time in March in Strade Bianche!

"In Liège, there are only so many riders you can count on one hand, with Tadej Pogachar leading the pack. In Stradé Bianche, Tadej confirmed that he doesn't need any competition to quickly become top conditioned. He is a pure master class rider, he will race on his favorite track on Sunday, and he has a strong team around him," van der Pol said in a press statement on Friday.

Both riders have been preparing for Sunday's race in Spain with warmer weather and higher altitude. Van der Pol flew to Alicante just hours after finishing the Amstel Gold Race to "recharge his batteries," while Pogachar has been in the Sierra Nevada for the past three weeks while in Monaco after winning the overall at the Volta a Catalunya in March.

But while Pogachar went out today to scout in the chilly Ardennes countryside in his winter gear, Van der Pol changed his mind, citing his familiarity with the terrain and his desire to avoid another day of cold weather.

"Batteries charged. Because of the bad weather forecast at home, I decided to fly to Spain on Sunday night. There I was able to complete the last few days of training in order to achieve my last goal for this spring," van der Pol said.

"I was going to return to Belgium on Thursday afternoon and reconsulate the La Doyenne final with my teammates on Friday. The weather forecast was too bad. I know most of the roads and hills, although the last time I took part was back in 2020."

The last time Pogachar and Van der Poel faced off was in mid-March on Milan-San Remo, when the Slovenian attacked from the top of Poggio but was crushed by his Dutch rival, who was serving teammate Jasper Philipsen, and finished third. Van der Pol's support team was strong again on Sunday, but without Milan-San Remo winner Philipsen.

"As I said, I think I am still in good enough shape to play an important role in Liège - Bastogne - Liège. I am not only thinking about myself, but also about my teammates. Although not shown in the results, I saw the strength of Axel Laurens, Quinten Hermans, and Søren Kragh Andersen in Fresh Wallonne. With this quality in the team, I think we can achieve good results."

While Pogachar won a sprint from a small group three years ago in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Van der Pol had only competed once four years ago, finishing sixth, three places behind the Slovenian who had just reached the podium. If Pogachar wins in Liège, he will have achieved six monuments.

Van der Pol was quick to point out that Sunday's tussle was not just between his Alpecin Deceuninck and UAE Team Emirates. Ineos Grenadiers will be joined by Tom Pidcock, winner of Amstel Gold and runner-up in Liège last year, and Visma Lease-a-Bike will be joined by Tiesj Benoot, who has two top-10 finishes in the opening round of the Ardennes Classic.

"Tom Pidcock is also there. Richard Kalapas, Thiesj Benoot, Matthias Skjelmoes, Maxime Van Gils, Dylan Theuns, you name it. These are all riders who have proven over the past week that they are in good shape, and on paper they are better climbers than I am.

"Just because last Sunday's result wasn't great doesn't mean I doubted how well I've been doing the past few weeks. I didn't have a super leg in the Amstel Gold Race, but it wasn't bad either. But I had already had a successful spring, so I could afford to gamble a bit in the final. But it didn't work out as expected. But the best riders in the race were up front, and Tom Pidcock was the one who deserved the win.

Temperatures were in the single digits and rain was forecast. Van der Pol said he will focus on closing out the spring season with his fourth win.

"A win is possible. If I wasn't so sure, I wouldn't even participate. But I need to do a little bit better than I did in the Flanders Classic. I'm going to try anyway. One more shot before we take another break. Like I said, our spring has already been successful. Everything that will be added on Sunday will be more than icing on the cake."

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