Michael Kwiatkowski has said that the hard work done by himself and his Etixx Quick Step team-mates paid off as he took victory in Sunday's Amstel Gold Race in Valkenberg in the Netherlands.
This was a great day for me, the hard work paid off," Kwiatkowski said to his team's press office.
"I'm really thankful that my teammates were so amazing today. I was always in the top 20 or 25 positions. I could relax the whole day. We had Tony in the important breakaway and that was crucial for me.
"Of course I was suffering as well in a race with so many climbs. The second-to-last time up the Cauberg I said to Gianni Meersman 'you know, I'm not feeling so good today.' But he said to me straight away that everyone is suffering with 34 climbs at this race and I have to make it. That gave me a lot of motivation before the last time up the Cauberg.
"I'm really thankful they believed in me until the last moment. In cycling you never know what to expect from those around you. You might look around and feel like no one is suffering but you, but you don't know the true situation until the last important acceleration.
"For the sprint I was able to sit in the slipstream and breathe a little bit, and that was important to recover from the effort on the Cauberg. I was able to get some energy back to go full gas in the select group sprint and win Amstel Gold Race.
"It's an amazing race here, with a difficult race from start to finish and so many fans of cycling on each climb. It's really special to get this win at the opening race of the Ardennes Classics.
"Etixx - Quick-Step had a really strong first part of the season leading up to today. We had some bad luck with riders like Tom Boonen being injured before the Cobbled Classics. But we still tried to go for the win as we had many other cards to play. In cycling if you don't go for it, you're never going to get the victory. The whole team was happy about the podium at Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix because we tried our best at those races. Today we had the same kind of effort and I am now at the top of the podium.
"We got the success we were trying so hard for. For sure, winning Amstel Gold Race in the Rainbow Jersey means a lot to both me and the team, and it is another example of how strong we are as a collective.
"I built up really well for this race, and winning here, which was my goal, I cannot describe my emotions. It's really big for me at this point in my career. For sure I will celebrate with my teammates tonight. They were key to helping me get this win. Then, we look next to the rest of the Ardennes Classics with great morale."