Thomas Pidcock’s Victory Shakes Up Predictions: Mathieu van der Poel Beatable

Mathieu van der Poel can therefore be beaten. Expected to be the huge favorite after his Tour of Flanders-Paris-Roubaix double, the Dutchman from Alpecin-Deceuninck ultimately never weighed on the Amstel Gold Race. It was finally Thomas Pidcock (INEOS Grenadiers) who won, at the end of an individual masterclass after feeling the good move of eleven runners, coming out at 29km, just before the Keutenberg. He sprinted ahead of Marc Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates) and Tiesj Benoot (Visma | Lease a Bike) to claim his first Ardennese and become the first Briton to win the Amstel. Great performance from the French, with Paul Lapeira (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale, 5th), Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ, 8th) and Quentin Pacher (Groupama-FDJ, 8th) in the top 10.

Hirschi nevertheless tried everything

By wondering how Mathieu van der Poel could be beaten, we forgot that the Dutchman could simply have one less good day or lose interest in the race for victory. It’s difficult to know what it really was, but the world champion never weighed on the race, not attacking the slightest time. Above all, he never seemed willing or able to follow the various offensives, which were slow but will have paid off. We had to wait almost 220 kilometers but, at the end of a long waiting race, the daring ones were rewarded with a multitude of attacks in the wake of Marc Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates) at the top of Eyserbosweg, at 32km from the finish. A group of six was then formed and the absence of a teammate around Van der Poel pushed the favorites to look at each other. But not Pidcock.

Hermans, right arm of MVP, slowed down by a fall

Very lucid, tactically perfect, the Briton from INEOS Grenadiers did not want to be trapped and immediately made the jump, even before the foot of Keutenberg, on the Hirschi group. We also found at the front the French Quentin Pacher and Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ), Kevin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) but also Paul Lapeira (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale), who had anticipated 59km from the finish. We quickly understood that the peloton would not return again, the majority of the favorites having a man at the front, it remained to be seen how to go for victory. Despite Marc Hirschi’s efforts in the Cauberg, it was finally in the Geulhemmerberg, 13km from the finish, still driven by the Swiss champion, that the good quartet broke away, with Pidcock but also Tiesj Benoot and Mauri Vansevenant.

What a reflex: Van der Poel jumps to avoid a bottle

This time, no bad surprises for Pidcock

Clearly the weakest, on the verge of breaking in the Bemelerberg, the Belgian from the Soudal-Quick Step will have played a major role in Pidcock’s victory. While the Briton, Hirschi and Benoot looked at each other in the final straight, leaving us to believe for a time that a “Van der Poel 2019″ from Michael Matthews (Jayco-Alula, ultimately 10th and first in the peloton, at 11”), will have him agreed to ride before launching from very far, almost 300m. The peloton did not return and neither did the French, despite the efforts of Lapeira (5th) and Madouas (6th), faster in the sprint but who could not not really having any regrets either Unlike the favorites who modeled their race on Van der Poel or Vansevenant.

Pidcock, cold blood and legs of fire: the suspenseful finale on video

Because all his efforts obviously did not pay off for him (4th) but for Pidcock, who benefited from an excellent pilot fish to make the difference in the sprint and resist Hirschi and Benoot, avoiding the error of raising his arms too early like Wiebes a few hours before him. This time, no need for a photo finish taken on the phone, no bad surprises for the Briton from INEOS Grenadiers. Three years after his real-false defeat (2nd) against Van Aert, declared winner without us still being certain of his success, one year after having exploded in the wake of Pogacar (3rd), here he is finally king of the ‘Amstel Gold Race. Enough to ideally launch its Ardennes and give balm to the heart of the INEOS Grenadiers training, in the tough in 2024.

Pidcock, mischievous: “I could say I’m winning for the second time…”

2024-04-14 15:43:00
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