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Having taken out the first of the one-day Classics four days ago, the pair once again prevailed in Wallonia with a dominant display that now leaves Liege-Bastogne-Liege as the final piece of an illustrious puzzle.
Only Davide Rebellin (2004), Philippe Gilbert (2011) and Anna van der Breggen (2017) have completed the Ardennes triple, though Pogacar and Vollering will take confidence from their previous Liege victories in 2021.
The Slovenian’s victory atop the Mur de Huy on Wednesday was yet another display of his dominance over the men’s peloton and his sixth of the season, to go with six stage wins at the Paris-Nice and Vuelta a Andalucia.
There was a patience about his eventual attack; having maintained a fast tempo alongside Michael Woods (Israel-Premier Tech) and Tom Pidcock (INEOS Grenadiers) to catch breakaway rider Louis Vervaeke (Soudal–Quick-Step) with one kilometre remaining, the two-time Tour de France champion then countered Romain Bardet’s (Team DSM) move inside the final 200 metres to cross ahead of Mattias Skjelmose Jensen (Trek-Segafredo) and Mikel Landa (Bahrain Victorious).
It was “an amazing job”, according to the UAE Team Emirates star, who was quick to thank his teammates after the race.
“The team put me in the best place, and I was in control until the last 200 metres, where Bardet attacked, but I knew it was too soon,” Pogacar said.
“About 150 metres to go was my goal (to attack), and I tried to do my best from there.”
“Without (the team), I could not win today,” he added. “No one really helped us. It was all on us… it gives me a lot of boost when the team does such an amazing job.”
Vollering, too, was appreciative of her SD Worx teammates, who helped her overcome nerves and confidence issues regarding the local laps featuring the Mur de Huy.
“I was really nervous today because of this climb, it is so hard, and you never know how you are (going to feel),” Vollering explained.
“Of course, I knew that my legs were good, but the race was so early this morning and I struggled with my food today in the race, I was nauseous because of the nerves… my team helped me come through the race, and they were important to me.”
The Dutch rider made her move at the foot of the Mur, a 1.3-kilometre ascent with an average gradient of 9.6%, and accelerated away from the bunch to eventually find the line five seconds ahead of Liane Lippert (Team DSM) in second place.
Lippert forced one last attack from Vollering as the race reached its climax, though the strength of the 26-year-old’s burst rendered a sprint finish unnecessary.
“Today, I found a way to handle the Mur de Huy,” Vollering said while fighting back tears.
“I looked behind me, and I saw that the gap was pretty big, and I looked again because I was like, ‘this cannot be true’. I was also thinking, ‘now they will come around (me), prepare yourself for the final sprint’, but it was not even needed.”
Only La Doyenne remains as the final leg of the Ardennes Classics, and Vollering has her sights set firmly on first place and a piece of history.
“We will try to finish the job in Liege-Bastogne-Liege,” she added.
SBS VICELAND and SBS On Demand will provide all the action from the women’s and men’s races, with coverage commencing from 7:25pm (AEST) on April 23.
