Dramatic win for Briton Tom Pidcock in Holland

There were surprise finishes for both the men’s and women’s teams at the Amstel Gold Race in Valkenburg, The Netherlands.

Jubilation and bitter disappointment marked the classic 253 km race with 30 climbs, both for the men’s and the women’s cycling teams.

Tom Pidcock MBE strategically kept enough reserves for a sprint to the finish line at the one-day cycle race.

The brightest star of the Ineos Grenadier team, Olympic winner Tom Pidcock pipped favourite Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin–Deceuninck) at the post.

Pello Bilbao and Roger Adrià were well out in front when Tom Pidcock, Marc Hirschi from Switzerland cycling for EUA, Belgians Tiesj Benoot and Mauri Vansevenant entered the peloton near the end of the race.

They were 15 seconds ahead when Marc Hirschi tried to gain an advantage at the Cauberg climb and Pidcock tied to ge ahead at the last pass through the Geulhemmerberg, but Tiesj Benoot closed the gap.

Opened sprint too early

The four were readying for the final sprint when Mauri Vansevenant opened up too early, with more than 400m to go, and they jockeyed for position several times before Tom Pidcock pushed to the finish line at the last moment.

This was Tom Pidcock’s first win at the Amstel after coming third last year and second in 2021. He is the first British man to win the event following Nicole Cooke’s victory in the women’s race in 2003.

Catastrophic finish to women’s Amstel Gold Race

In the women’s event, Lorena Wiebes sat up in a victory stance right before the finish line, just a moment too soon. Fellow Dutch cyclist Marianne Vos then lunged forward to win by a fraction.

A disappointed Lorena Wiebes admitted she had “made a really stupid mistake”, and that she would not sleep well for the next couple of nights but would be back for revenge.

The Amstel Gold Race, considered the most important Dutch road cycling event, has been sponsored by the Amstel brewery since its inception in 1966.