Mischa Bredewold lead an all Dutch podium to win the Amstel Gold Race Ladies race. She launched the decisive attack along the final passage on the Cauberg, causing a small margin between herself and the other escapees until the finish line. Ellen van Dijk was second and Puck Pieterse in third place. Canadians faired well in the top-ten - Alison Jackson (7th) and Mara Roldan (10th)!
Golden for Skejelmose
It's not often that after Pogacar launches an attack, he is caught but that is exactly what happened today when Mattias Skjelmose, and eventually Remco Evenepoel came together behind the reigning world champion on the final lap of Amstel Gold Race.
On the final ascent of the Cauberg the stage was set for a three-up sprint with Skjelmose starting the sprint from the back of the group having just enough left to snatch victory. In the biggest win of his career, Mattias Skjelmose played it perfectly handing defeat and outsprinting both the Olympic and world champion to the line at Amstel Gold Race.
"I was telling Remco all the time that I was fucked and 'Please, pull on the climbs, I'm on the limit', and when we stopped, I only took pulls because I was riding for the podium. Already, that would have been a really big result for me. I tried to keep the group going so they didn't come back from behind. Of course, I sprinted for the best result, but I thought I was going to cramp and see them go into the horizon.
I think Remco did it perfect, I tried to have a big of a gap and go on the right, but Remco went right and fuck, Tadej went on the right as well, so I went on the left and I don't know, I don't know what happened. When Tadej goes, you know that you're riding for second, so when I did attack I knew it was for second.
After my crash in Paris-Nice, I was really struggling and I didn't know if I'd even make it to the start of Itzulia. Going into Basque at 95% was perfect with six hard stages then, I got the extra 5%. Personally when we attacked, I was on the limit. I think Remco made up 80% and I made up 20%. Alone I would never have caught Tadej.
I didn't believe it, I really didn't believe it. It means so much to me, I had so much bad luck already this season, I lost my grandad a bit more than a month ago, and I really wanted to give him a win, so this is for him."
-Mattias Skjelmose
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