Amstel Gold Race 2024: Tom Pidcock claims victory after Marianne Vos takes women's race
Tom Pidcock made his third step on the podium at the Amstel Gold Race a winning one on Sunday (14 April).
Having been a narrow second in 2021 and third last year, the defending mountain bike Olympic champion won a sprint finish from a four-man breakaway to secure his third road cycling Classic victory.
Marc Hirschi was second with Tiesj Benoot in third place.
After his triumphs in the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix on the last two weekends, Mathieu van der Poel finished in the peloton which was unable to haul in the leaders.
Earlier, Marianne Vos won a bunch sprint to claim her second women's race triumph having been victorious previously in 2021.
The 36-year-old star edged out fellow Dutchwoman Lorena Wiebes - who had her hands raised prematurely in celebration - to take an event shortened due to a crash involving a police motorcycle.
Tom Pidcock times sprint to perfection
Three riders - Mikkel Honoré, Louis Vervaeke and Paul Lapeira - broke clear of the peloton just inside the last 60km.
Vervaeke was dropped on the Eyserbosweg climb 35km from the finish, and 10 riders - including Pidcock, Hirschi and Bauke Mollema - bridged the gap to make it a lead group of 12.
They extended their lead over the pack to 40 seconds ahead of the second ascent of the famous Cauberg with Honoré unable to live with the pace at the front.
With just over 10km to go, Pidcock, Hirschi, Mauri Vansevenant and Benoot formed a smaller breakaway group and established a 10-second gap at the front with just one climb, the Bemelerberg, to come.
Six kilometres from home, Pidcock launched an attack but could not shake off the other three with Vansevenant looking in danger of losing contact. Lapeira's effort to try and make it a five-man breakaway proved in vain with the podium places coming from the lead four.
Five riders almost bridged the gap as the front four sized each other up in the last few hundred metres, but then the racing began in earnest.
Vansevenant was forced to lead out before fading, and it was Pidcock who had the strength to take a narrow win from Hirschi with Benoot in third.
Results from Amstel Gold Race 2024 men's race (top six):
- Tom Pidcock (GBR, INEOS Grenadiers) 5:58:17
- Marc Hirschi (SUI, UAE Team Emirates) +0"
- Tiesj Benoot (BEL, Team Visma Lease a Bike) +0"
- Mauri Vansevenant (BEL, Soudal-QuickStep) +0"
- Paul Lapeira (FRA, Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) +0"
- Valentin Madouas (FRA, Groupama-FDJ) +0"
Results from Amstel Gold Race 2024 women's race (top six):
- Marianne Vos (NED, Team Visma Lease A Bike) 2:35:02
- Lorena Wiebes (NED, Team SD Worx-Protime) +0"
- Ingvild Gåskjenn (NOR, Liv AlUla Jayco) +0"
- Pfeiffer Georgi (GBR, Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) +0"
- Elisa Longo Borghini (ITA, Lidl-Trek) +0"
- Eleonora Gasparrini (ITA, UAE Team ADQ) +0"