Following his fourth victory of the season at Wednesday's Brabantse Pijl, the bridging race between the cobbled Classics and the upcoming Ardennes triple, Benoît Cosnefroy believes Mathieu van der Poel can be beaten at the Amstel Gold Race.
The biggest race in the Netherlands is the next on the world champion's hitlist ahead of a tilt at a third Monument victory of the season at Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
Five years ago, van der Poel won at Amstel Gold Race with a stunning come-from-behind ride, while in 2022, his most recent participation at the race, he was fourth, two spots behind Cosnefroy, who was pipped to the line by Michał Kwiatkowski.
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The Frenchman, who has been in fine form this spring, told L'Equipe that in spite of the added challenge posed by Van der Poel racing, his presence can also provide opportunities for others to make moves.
"The circumstances made this win possible," Cosnefroy said of his Brabantse Pijl triumph. "When Mathieu is in a race, he's watched a lot by other riders and it's perhaps easier for riders who are outsiders to express themselves."
Cosnefroy, now in his eighth season at Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale and one of the team leaders, noted that the hilly parcours of Amstel Gold Race is a world away from the flat, brutal cobbles of Paris-Roubaix.
Could that mean the race will be harder to control for Van der Poel's Alpecin-Deceuninck team?
"In Paris-Roubaix, Van der Poel had an exceptional team who did a lot of the work for him," Cosnefroy said.
"But there it's a very flat race whereas Amstel Gold Race is a little less easy to control and it's perhaps harder to make large gaps too.
"I don't really know, but in my head, I think it's possible," he concluded on the question of once again being able to beat the Dutch star on home ground.
Cosnefroy is set to lead a Decathlon AG2R team including Dorion Godon, Paul Lapeira, and Oliver Naesen at Sunday's race, while Nicolas Guillé will be among the team's directeurs sportifs in Limburg.
"I won't get overexcited. We'll first savour this victory," Guillé told L'Equipe when asked about the team's chances at the weekend.
"It's still a race and we'll also see a lot of the riders who were racing here," he concluded, hinting at the other contenders who will also be present, including Dylan Teuns and Michael Matthews as well as those who didn't race Brabantse Pijl, such as Tom Pidcock, Matej Mohorič, and Richard Cararpaz
