British rider Tom Pidcock (Ineos-Grenadiers) won the Amstel Gold Race classic with a sprint victory over Swiss Marc Hirschi and Belgian Tiesj Benoot on Sunday in Valkenburg, the only World Tour race in the Netherlands.
Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel, the pre-race favorite after dominating the Flanders races, finished 22nd in a chasing group a dozen seconds behind the winner.
The world champion said goodbye to his chances of victory when he was left 30 kilometers from the finish when he could not respond to the change of pace of a dozen riders on the Keutenberg, the steepest climb of the course. He then lacked the resources to get back to the lead group.
Pidcock, who had finished on the third step of the podium last year, signed in the Dutch Limburg his first road victory this season. The 24-year-old’s palmarès includes the Strade Bianchi (2023), the Flèche Brabanzona (2021) and the prestigious Tour de France stage finishing on Alpe d’Huez (2022).
“I made so many sacrifices these past few months that this victory counts a lot for me,” said Pidcock, who counts among the favorites to win Wednesday’s Flèche Wallonne and Sunday’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
Among the Latin riders, Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) reported 51st, 1:56 behind the winner. The only Colombian in competition, Brandon Rivera (Ineos Granadiers) finished in intermediate positions, arriving in 83rd place, more than six minutes behind his teammate.
Amstel Gold Race 2024 (1.UWT)
Resultado Final (253,6 km)
| 1 | Thomas Pidcock | INEOS Grenadiers | 5:58:17 |
| 2 | Marc Hirschi | UAE Team Emirates | ,, |
| 3 | Tiesj Benoot | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | ,, |
| 4 | Mauri Vansevenant | Soudal Quick-Step | ,, |
| 5 | Paul Lapeira | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team | ,, |
| 6 | Valentin Madouas | Groupama – FDJ | ,, |
| 7 | Bauke Mollema | Lidl – Trek | ,, |
| 8 | Quentin Pacher | Groupama – FDJ | ,, |
| 9 | Pello Bilbao | Bahrain – Victorious | ,, |
| 10 | Michael Matthews | Team Jayco AlUla | 0:11 |
Source: AFP Agency y Revista Mundo ciclístico