Having described his stomping Flèche Wallonne victory as the top result of his career thus far, Katusha rider Joaquim Rodriguez will chase more elation when attempting to double up in Sunday’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
In the past decade only three riders have succeeded in winning both races; Davide Rebellin in 2004, Alejandro Valverde in 2006 and then, last year, Philippe Gilbert.
While Rodriguez isn’t in a position to fully emulate Rebellin and Gilbert, who also won the Amstel Gold Race in their successful Ardennes years, he can still move into a very select group on Sunday.
Only seven riders have won both Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège since those races began, showing how tough that double is.
He’s aware of that difficulty, but it doesn’t deter him from trying.
“I believe that despite this victory, my chances are neither increased nor decreased. We could see that things changed completely just from the Amstel Gold Race to Flèche Wallonne: it may happen again on Sunday,” Rodriguez said, responding to questions put to him by VeloNation after Wednesday’s success.
“We have three days to recover and prepare: I have a dream of getting a double victory at the Belgian Ardennes Classics, but it’s very hard to beat my rivals.”
Rodriguez has been knocking at the door of those Classics for several seasons. He’s gone very close before; in 2009 he was second in Liège, in 2010 he was runner-up in Flèche Wallonne, and then he repeated that placing again last year. He was also second in the 2011 Amstel Gold Race, completing a hat-trick of those slots.
The near-misses were frustrating, but they also sharpened his resolve to stand on the top step of the podium. Because of that, today’s success brought powerful emotions.
“It’s the most brilliant, most desirable and most incredible victory of my career,” he enthused, when asked what he felt crossing the line.
“I felt happiness, and relief due to reaching this great goal. Also, because there was no more tension or pain. The Mur de Huy is a very hard place to finish: the win may have seemed easy to take, but I would say that it was really hard to get away from my competitors towards the finish line.”
He did just that, though, and has added an important race to his list of successes.
”I was always a fan of the big stage races, but I like the great Classics as well: in particular, Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège,” he continued. “After numerous placings and podiums, the victory has finally come. It is very exciting to take one of goals that I had set out for my career long ago.”
Remaining mentally strong:
Rodriguez has had a fine start to the season, picking up a stage plus sixth overall in Tirreno-Adriatico, then going on to nab two stages plus second overall in the Vuelta al Pais Vasco.
And while Sunday’s Amstel Gold Race didn’t quite go to plan, he said that his 24th-place showing then didn’t dent his morale.
“I was not very preoccupied with it - in Sunday’s Amstel Gold Race, I was actually in good shape as well,” he explained. “However, cold weather appeared to be a bigger problem for me than I expected. In addition, Oscar [Freire] was in good condition, so we agreed on that, and I let him go.
“It was not about my form – I knew that I was good, – it was about the form of my rivals, who remained very strong.”
Heading into Wednesday’s race, the team knew that the course suited him better than it did Freire, who is less explosive on climbs like the Mur de Huy and who was very unlikely to be able to slip clear after Sunday’s near-success. The Katusha team threw its weight behind Rodriguez, leading the peloton in pursuit of breakaway riders and ensuring that things were close enough for him to be able to uncork a winning surge on the final climb.
So, given all the work the team did, how confident did he feel during the race? “It is much easier and more comfortable to do your job with such a strong team,” he responded. “Everybody did their job very well: at first they prevented attacks from the group, then they brought me to Mur de Huy into the best position for my sprint.
“I would like to thank as well Igor Makarov and the Russian Cycling Project: I would have hardly won my first great Classic without their support.”
After Sunday, Rodriguez will continue his season campaign by lining out in the Giro d’ Itaia. He’ll head to that race in the best possible condition and, if he can, will fight for the general classification.
It’s clear that he is gaining in confidence the whole time. Once a rider who had a worker role for Alejandro Valverde, he has grown into being a leader in his own right.
“I must say that today I was in good shape during the entire race,” he said. “And I knew that in the end I could make a difference, owing to the fact that Philippe Gilbert is not so unbeatable as he was last year.”
Gilbert will try to bounce back in Liège but, after yesterday, he knows that Rodriguez is now a rider with the strength and confidence to pull off another big win there. In terms of the Classics, he's a nearly man no longer.