Amstel Gold race director Leo van Vliet was tight-lipped that the leading company’s car had no impact on the outcome of Sunday’s biggest classic in the Netherlands.
Favorite Tadej Pogachar took control of matters with a stunning solo victory in the 2023 season.
After launching several attacks, the Slovenian finally broke away alone with 29 kilometers to go, leaving behind the last two riders, EF Education-Easypost’s Ben Healy and Ineos Grenadiers’ Tom Pidcock.
The company vehicle, carrying Van Vliet, overtook Pogachar with 10 kilometers to go, with the gap on the Heli at 20 seconds. At the end, the gap between Pogachar and Healy was 38 seconds.
Television footage showed the race director’s vehicle ahead of Pogachar, sparking outrage from some social media users and some sarcastic comments from EF manager Jonathan Vaughters.
“Quality work by the #AGR23 race organisers… a race on the track at Motorpass (Durney) is always great fun. So guess what they’ve brought to the track now,” Vaughters wrote on Twitter.
However, Van Vliet denied the allegation that the director’s car was ahead of Pogachar by a kilometer at all. The race car told him he had no choice but to spend some time in front of Pogachar for safety.
“We were driving behind Tadej Pogachar and Ben Healy came close, so you have to pass,” he said. A.D Newspaper.
“It’s not true at all. [that the car was in front for a kilometre]. Watch TV footage. It didn’t help. I also race myself. I can’t imagine that. [it offered an advantage].
“Why would it do me any good to do that?” “We were way ahead of him,” he added. There’s nothing wrong.”
Van Vliet, as the race director, knew that the road was getting narrower after a while and that it was dangerous to try to put more distance between himself and Pogachar.
He pushed back the idea that he would rather have Pogačar as a winner than Healy.
“You say so. So I can’t do anything,” he said.
Pogačar and Vaughters have their own opinion.
Pogačar himself was asked about the incident at the post-race press conference and admitted that the car was too close.
But he pointed out that not only the Amstel Gold Race, but the steering director’s car pulling before the separation is a maneuver that occurs in all races. He also backed up Van Vliet’s claims long ago.
“At one point they were very close. I think it’s not good, but they do this all the time, they are at the front, they pass, they come back. So that’s how it is in the race,” Pogakar said.
“I can’t do much, I can always drive as much as possible, but I don’t think it’s too close to the front too often.”
Vaughters admitted on Twitter that even if Healey were to reunite with Pogachar, he would likely lose the race. That’s what happened five days ago, at the Brabanse Pijl, after the two reached the final together when Healy was easily defeated by Dorian Godon (AG2R Citröen).
But EF-EasyPost’s manager insists there is still cause for complaint.
“Let me be a little more productive and mature here. The point is, we see cars changing the race results all the time, sometimes in our favor and sometimes not. It gets tiring. The point is, it makes the race easier.”
For the third year in a row, the Amstel Gold Competition organization has brought in new photo-finishing tools to try and resolve potential controversies in deciding the winner.
In the year In the 2021 double race between Wout van Aert (Jambo-Visma) and Tom Pidcock (Eneos Grenadier), Van Aert was eventually declared the winner by millimetres, with Benoît Cosnefroy (AG2R Citröen) mistakenly awarded the win in 2022. , only to go to Michal Kwiatkowski (Ineos Grenadier) in the end.
Let me be a little more productive and mature here: The point is, we see vehicles changing race results all the time. Sometimes in our favor, sometimes not. It just gets tiring. Pog won in the prob sprint; That’s not the point. It just demeans racing. https://t.co/QNAQKdsyJDApril 16, 2023
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