Tom Pidcock claimed victory in the men’s Amstel Gold Race on Sunday, while in the women’s race Marianne Vos took a frenetic sprint on the line but only after Lorena Wiebes celebrated too early.
Pidcock, who finished second in the race in 2021 when losing out in a sprint to winner Wout Van Aert, this time proved the strongest in the final metres, holding off Marc Hirschi and Tiesj Benoot to claim victory in the Dutch town of Valkenburg.
It means the Ineos rider adds a first Ardennes classic to his ever more impressive palmarès. He is the first British man to win the event and the second Briton after Nicole Cooke’s triumph in the women’s race in 2003.
The 2024 edition of the women’s race suffered a long delay after a crash involving a police motorcyclist supervising the race. After the restart as the leaders raced over the final few metres it appeared Wiebes had done enough but she sat up to celebrate just short of the line, allowing her Dutch compatriot Vos to jab her bike forward and snatch the win.
“I made a really stupid mistake,” said Wiebes. “I’m really disappointed. Now I’ll try to get revenge in the future. I will sleep bad for a couple of nights.”
