Michal Kwiatkowski has won the Amstel Gold Race. The Pole was the strongest after a sprint with Frenchman Benoît Cosnefroy.
Initially, Cosnefroy was declared the winner, but after studying the photo finish, Kwiatkowski appeared to have won. It is the Pole’s second victory in the Amstel Gold Race.
Schelling
At 10:30 AM 170 riders started the 56th edition of the Amstel Gold Race. Due to the absence of defending champion Wout van Aert, it was already clear in advance that the Amstel Gold Race would have a different winner than last year. Soon there was a leading group of six riders who would form the flight of the day. The most famous name was the Dutchman Ide Schelling. The maximum lead of the leading group was about five minutes.
Belgians
In the peloton, about 100 kilometers from the finish, the first reaction came from the Belgians Victor Campenaerts and Nathan van Hooydonck. They managed to join the leading group. Rastelli was unable to keep up with the pace, so seven riders formed the new leading group. Florian Sénéchal also tried to make the crossing, but failed. The seven leaders had a lead of about 1.5 minutes for some time. In the peloton it became a bit more nervous, so there were several small crashes.
Gulperbergweg
On the Gulperbergweg, the new climb due to the change of course, the leading group fell apart. There was no real attack from the peloton. But the steep climb meant that quite a few riders had to release. In the run-up to the Kruisberg, Nathan van Hooydonck missed a bend, as a result of which he ended up against a car. But the Belgian managed to hold out the longest. Everyone was grabbed on top of the Eyserbosweg. A thinned out peloton of about 25 riders led the race.
Keutenberg
The group of favorites broke up on the Keutenberg. Tom Dumoulin, among others, could no longer keep up with the pace. A group of 12 riders, including favorites Mathieu van der Poel, Tom Pidcock and Michael Matthews, made a big gap. It soon became clear that the twelve men were going to decide who would be the winner of the Amstel Gold Race.
Kwiatkowski and Cosnefroy
At the last climb of the Cauberg the group stayed together, but at the crossing of the finish line before entering the last local lap Michal Kiwatkowski decided to attack. On the Geulhemmerberg he was joined by Benoit Cosnefroy. The pursuers came within five seconds of the duo, but then saw the Pole and the Frenchman run out again. They started with a half-minute lead on the Bemelerberg, the last slope of the day.
Van der Poel
The two then held their ground and also managed to keep the gap with the pursuers. Mathieu van der Poel counterattacked twice more, but was unable to join in. Kwiatkowski and Cosnefroy sprinted for the win. The Frenchman started early and seemed to win too, but with an ultimate jump Kwiatkowski still won his second Amstel Gold Race. In 2015 he also won as world champion in Felt.