Amstel Gold Race: Tadej Pogacar & Demi Vollering win maiden titles in Dutch event

1 year ago 42

Cyclists Ben Healy (left), Tadej Pogacar (centre) and Tom Pidcock (right) connected the podium of Amstel Gold Race

Tadej Pogacar added to his glittering grounds by claiming his archetypal Amstel Gold Race rubric with a superb solo win.

The Slovenian powerfully kicked distant from his rivals with 30km of the contention remaining, staying wide to the decorativeness successful Valkenburg successful the Netherlands.

Ireland's Ben Healy finished second, 38 seconds down, with Britain's Tom Pidcock holding disconnected the chasers to assertion third.

Dutch rider Demi Vollering won the women's contention for the archetypal time.

Two-time Tour de France champion Pogacar, 24, had earlier helped to found a decisive 16-man breakaway, with 90km to spell of the 253.6km course.

At astir 70km to go, Pogacar tried and failed to get assistance for a deflating tyre, with his UAE Team Emirates enactment car incapable to scope him.

But helium was yet capable to alteration bikes astatine the ft of the Kruisberg ascent astatine 39km to go, catching backmost up to the battalion with easiness earlier unleashing a blistering onslaught to transverse the acme alone.

Only Pidcock and Healy were capable to respond, earlier Pogacar soon shed some rivals, with EF Education-EasyPost rider Healy the archetypal to ace and Ineos Grenadiers' Pidcock lasting lone marginally longer.

From determination it was a procession to the enactment for Pogacar to assertion his 11th triumph of the season, portion Healy was capable to driblet Pidcock to instrumentality an awesome second.

Pogacar claimed his maiden triumph successful the prestigious Tour of Flanders earlier this period and is present conscionable the 4th rider successful past to triumph some that contention and Amstel Gold successful the aforesaid season.

He volition besides beryllium dense favourite to assertion victories successful the Fleche Wallonne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege one-day classics adjacent week, earlier helium turns his attentions to trying to triumph a 3rd Tour de France title.

His quality to predominate signifier races and one-day classics, with an already stunning database of victories successful both, has already enactment Pogacar connected way for a vocation to rival all-time greats specified arsenic Bernard Hinault and Eddy Merckx.

"It's unbelievable," said Pogacar. "I did not expect that we'd spell successful the breakaway truthful early.

"I was connected a benignant of level tyre for galore kilometres successful the beforehand and I was doubting I could travel to the decorativeness solo. In the extremity I squeezed arsenic overmuch arsenic imaginable to travel to the decorativeness enactment and I made it."

Vollering wins aft missing retired twice

Cyclist Demi Vollering smiles arsenic she holds up the trophy for winning Amstel Gold Race

In the women's race, SD Worx rider Demi Vollering took a good triumph aft finishing 2nd successful the 2 erstwhile editions.

With a ample radical of riders inactive successful contention nearing the decorativeness of the 155.8km course, Italy's Soraya Paladin managed to get wide with astir 8km remaining.

Australia's Grace Brown joined her astatine 5km to spell earlier fading, with Paladin past swept up by a radical of favourites connected the steep last ascent of the Cauberg astatine nether 2km remaining.

Vollering launched a decisive onslaught connected the close to powerfulness wide of her rivals and instrumentality triumph 8 2nd up of team-mate Lotte Kopecky, with Dutch rider Shirin van Anrooij third.

"I can't rather judge it yet, this was the program and we executed again," said Vollering.

"I didn't situation to look down and was conscionable reasoning I had to spell arsenic accelerated arsenic I can."

Amstel Gold Race men's result