The rider blamed the weather while the directeur sportif blamed the legs; either way, Michal Kwiatkowski’s performance at the Amstel Gold Race was strangely lacklustre and somewhat concerning ahead of Liège-Bastogne-Liège on Sunday.
The Team Sky jerseys were amassed at the front of the bunch for large swathes of the first part of the Ardennes Classics but all that hard graft resulted in little when the defending champion was dropped with 20 kilometres remaining ahead of the crucial phase of the race.
Kwiatkowski was sheltered from the wind during the race by his teammates but unable to avoid the rain that started to fall in the final 60km. He took to social media after the race to explain how the conditions put paid to his chances of a repeat victory.
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“Thanks to everyone for their support during the Amstel Gold Race! I tried my hardest but the hail with rain froze my hands, feet, legs, back and, finally, my thoughts and ambitions,” he wrote.
In his post-race assessment for Team Sky, directeur sportif Kurt-Asle Arvesen explained that the former world champion was simply on an off-day.
"It was unfortunate that Michal got dropped," said the Norwegian and former Team Sky rider. "He just didn't have good legs, it's as simple as that.”
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