In his second appearance in South Limburg, Remco Evenepoel has won the Dutch one-day classic, the Amstel Gold Race. Two weeks after finishing third in the Tour of Flanders, the 26-year-old expanded his personal record of achievements. The two-time winner of Liège–Bastogne–Liège has now added another race from the Ardennes Triple to his list of victories.
This also sees Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe continue to make a strong impression after the cobbled classics. In their tenth appearance at the Amstel Race, this marks the team’s first ever victory in this race. Over the course of the season, a rider from the WorldTour team has now secured victory for the eleventh time.
With 42 kilometres to go, a leading group comprising all the favourites had formed. Up to that point, Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe had the race completely under control. When the final lap began around 20 kilometres from the finish, taking in the Geulhemmerberg, Bemelerberg and Cauberg, Evenepoel was alone with Mattias Skjelmose. The race was only decided in the final 300 metres. Whilst the Dane had come out on top in the sprint the previous year, Evenepoel was clearly the stronger rider this time.
I really love this race. Lots of short, hard climbs, and actually the race more or less opened on the same place this year again, so I was really confident. I felt much better than I did last year in the final. For sure, it’s the most beautiful victory of the season. For me this race is just under the monuments, so it’s really high on my ranking. It’s in my top 8 of victories in my career, probably.
— Remco Evenepoel
Today was an incredible day for the team. I think, from the start until finish, we really had control over the race. Everybody did their job to perfection, I would say. And yeah, Remco kept his head really cool, did a masterclass sprint, and so we have an Amstel now on the palmarès. That’s really great.
— Klaas Lodewyck, DS
