Having fallen during the reconnaissance of the first stage of the Tour of the Basque Country on April 1, Tom Pidcock (Ineos-Grenadiers) was seriously frightened. The image where we saw him being carried to join his bus before leaving for the hospital had inevitably left an impression. But the Ineos rider recovered well. Last Sunday, he was present in the Paris-Roubaix final (17th).
And this Sunday, he showed himself to be the strongest in the Amstel Gold Race, ahead of his breakaway companions Marc Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates), Tiesj Benoot (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Mauri Vansevenant (Soudal- Quick Step). This is the first British victory in this Dutch classic. He thus takes his revenge after his cruel second place in the photo finish behind Wout van Aert in 2021. Winner of a stage of the Tour de France in 2022 at Alpe d’Huez, Strade Bianche (2023), Pidcock, 24 years old, Olympic mountain bike champion in Tokyo, continues to add to his track record on the road.
Van der Poel less aerial, Lapeira in great form
The race ended 28 km from the finish during the ascent of Keutenberg under the leadership of Tiesj Benoot. He took behind him 11 other runners including Tom Pidcock, Marc Hirschi and four French people: Paul Lapeira (Decathlon-AG2R), Valentin Madouas and Quentin Pacher (Groupama-FDJ), Kevin Vauquelin (Arkea-B&B Hôtels). But not Mathieu van der Poel. The world champion, who had not attempted any attack during the race, was trapped. The gap with the peloton increased to 55 seconds.
World champion Mathieu van der Poel, less aerial, was trapped in a second group. ANP/Icon Sport
In the breakaway group, four riders then broke away 12 km from the finish: Hirschi, Pidcock, Benoot and Vansevenant. If Paul Lapeira, one of the French revelations at the start of 2024 (3 victories) left the 2nd group, and got closer to 9 seconds, he was not able to join this quartet of strong men who therefore fought for victory in the sprint despite the return of the pursuers.
On the French side, Paul Lapeira, long at the front of the race, took 5th place, Valentin Madouas, finished 6th and Quentin Pacher, 8th.
