©Amstel Gold Race
Amstel Gold Race: Kwiatkowski seven years later
Benoît Cosnefroy believed, for a few minutes, to be the third Frenchman to win the Amstel Gold Race. But the photo-finish gave a different verdict and finally offered victory to Poland’s Michal Kwiatkowski, already a winner here in 2015. Like last year, the outcome of the Dutch classic was epic between the last two contenders for victory: “We took on the responsibility of taking control of the pursuit. Laurens De Plus led the chase all day, all the riders in our team were super motivated to do the job,” commented Kwiatkowski. “We accelerated at the Kruisberg, reduced the group, and then there was a final blow with Tom and me. The execution of the plan was perfect, as we had expected. In the end, we won the race, it was magnificent.” The top favorite, Mathieu Van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) could not do better than fourth.
The women’s event saw the victory of Marta Cavalli (FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope). The 24-year-old Italian broke away from a group of six riders and won ahead of Demi Vollering (Team SD Worx) and Liane Lippert (Team DSM). Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar Team) remained at the foot of the podium.
The results:
Men: 1. Michal Kwiatkowski (Ineos Grenadiers), 2. Benoit Cosnefroy (AG2R Citroën Team), 3. Tiesj Benoot (Jumbo-Visma)…
Women: 1. Marta Cavalli (FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope), 2. Demi Vollering (Team SD Worx), 3. Liane Lippert (Team DSM)…
*****
Itzulia Basque Country: Martinez affirms his ambitions
Colombian climber Daniel Felipe Martinez succeeded by dispossessing Remco Evenepoel of the leader’s yellow jersey during the sixth and final stage on Saturday. Winner of the 2020 Critérium du Dauphiné and third at Paris-Nice recently, the 25-year-old rider from the Ineos Grenadiers team seems to have taken on a new status: “It was a very difficult stage from the start. It was only at the finish line that I considered myself the winner of the Itzulia Basque Country. The team was perfect at all times. When we were behind, Remco Evenepoel worked hard to get back to the riders who were at the front of the race. In the final, he lost ground, and that’s when I started to believe in the final victory,” concluded Martinez.
The results: 1. Daniel Felipe Martinez (Ineos Grenadiers), 2. Ion Izagirre (Cofidis), 3. Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora hansgrohe)…
Stages won by: Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma), Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team), Dello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorius), Daniel Felipe Martinez (Ineos Grenadiers), Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers), Ion Izagirre (Cofidis).
*****
Circuit cycliste Sartre – Pays de la Loire: Kooij takes advantage of Pedersen’s crasah
It seemed that the final victory was promised to Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo), leader of the general classification, but a big crash in the last kilometers sounded the death knell for the Dane’s ambitions. It was the winner of the fourth and final stage on Friday, the Dutchman Olav Kooij, 20, who would take the honors. Winner on Wednesday, during the 2nd stage, the rider from Jumbo-Visma was pleased with his current form: “The weather made the race very difficult. I crashed at the start of the stage; it was very slippery. In the finale, there was a new crash. I managed to get away without going down, and won the stage as well as the overall. I think sometimes you need a bit of luck,” concluded the winner, fifth in the Minerva Classic Brugge – De Panne three weeks earlier.
The results: 1. Olav Kooij (Jumbo-Visma), 2. Benoît Cosnefroy (AG2R Citroën Team), 3. Xandro Meurisse (Alpecin-Fenix)…
Stages won by: Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo), Olav Kooij (Jumbo Visma), Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo), Olav Kooij (Jumbo-Visma).
*****
Scheldeprijs: Kristoff does it again at Schoten
Alexander Kristoff (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux) won the 110th edition of the Scheldeprijs on Wednesday. The Norwegian, already winner in 2015 at Schoten, managed to escape from the bulk of the peloton in the last kilometers to win 24 seconds ahead of Van Poppel and Sam Welsford.
The results: 1. Alexander Kristoff (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux), 2. Danny Van Poppel (Bora hansgrohe), 3. Sam Welsford (Team DSM)…
*****
The races to come:
Giro di Sicilia – Tour of Sicily 12-15/04 https://ilgirodisicilia.it/en/
Paris – Camembert 12/04 www.paris-camembert.fr
De Brabantse Pijl – La Flèche Brabançonne 13/04 www.debrabantsepijl.be/nl/dbp/elite-mannen
Belgrade Banjaluka 14-17/04 https://afsport.org/events/
Classic Grand Besançon Doubs 15/04 www.classicgrandbesancondoubs.com
Paris Roubaix femmes 16/04 www.paris-roubaix-femmes.fr/fr
Tour du Jura 16/04 www.tourdujura.com
Paris Roubaix 17/04 https://www.paris-roubaix.fr/fr/