Cycling star Tadej Pogacar has once again humiliated the competition and won the difficult Amstel Gold Race for the first time. After 253.6 kilometers, the two-time Tour de France champion clinched victory single-handedly with a large lead over Irishman Ben Healy and British mountain bike Olympic champion Tom Pidcock.
Two weeks after his impressive triumph at the Tour of Flanders, Pogacar celebrated its eleventh win of the season at the race around Valkenburg near Maastricht. On Wednesday and Sunday, Pogacar can now complete his Ardennes triple at Fleche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
“I didn’t think about going into the breakaway that early. I doubted that I could reach the finish line on my own, but I did it,” said Pogacar. The decision was made 28.5 kilometers from the finish at Keutenberg. On inclines of up to 22 percent, the 24-year-old more or less left the breakaways standing by speeding up. “It was the toughest climb, I liked it the best,” added the exceptional driver.
Pogacar’s biggest adversaries not at the start
German drivers did not play a major role. Maximilian Schachmann, who finished third in the Amstel Gold Race in 2021, had decided not to start and will compete in the Tour of the Alps on Monday. Born in Berlin, he was thrown back again this spring by illnesses.
Pogacar had an easy time this time, especially since his big opponents Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands) and Wout van Aert (Belgium) had not started.
Tom Pidcock, after all the solo winner at the Strade Bianche, was most likely to have been trusted to stand up to Pogacar. But the British also had to capitulate. After the spring classics, Pogacar wants to prepare for the Tour de France and take back the yellow jersey from last year’s winner Jonas Vingegaard (Denmark).
In the women’s race, Demi Vollering from the Netherlands took victory. Fourth in the World Championships Liane Lippert from Friedrichshafen played a good role for a long time, but had to settle for 15th place in the end.
