Wellens amazed by Van der Poel but confident for Amstel Gold Race

With Tim Wellens in good form to start the season, Lotto-Soudal are among the teams looking for a strong result at Amstel Gold Race. The Belgian took third at Brabantse Pijl on Wednesday, and named the men he finished with as the main favourites for the first in the Ardennes trilogy, picking out Corendon-Circus phenom Mathieu van der Poel for particular analysis.

Dani Ostanek
Senior News Writer

Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, joining in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired full-time. Before joining the team, they had written for numerous major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly and Rouleur.

Dani has reported from the world's top races, including the Tour de France, Road World Championships, and the spring Classics. They have interviewed many of the sport's biggest stars, including Mathieu van der Poel, Demi Vollering, and Remco Evenepoel. Their favourite races are the Giro d'Italia, Strade Bianche and Paris-Roubaix.

Season highlights from the 2024 season include reporting from Paris-Roubaix –  'Unless I'm in an ambulance, I'm finishing this race' – Cyrus Monk, the last man home at Paris-Roubaix – and the Tour de France – 'Disbelief', gratitude, and family – Mark Cavendish celebrates a record-breaking Tour de France sprint win.