Gasparotto wins Amstel stunner
By Cycling News
Italian gets first Classics victory
Enrico Gasparotto (Astana Pro Team) won a thrilling Amstel Gold Race, timing his sprint to perfection atop the Cauberg, to win ahead of Jelle Vanendert (Lotto Belisol Team) and Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale).
Three time world champion Oscar Freire (Katusha Team) finished fourth after his bold attack in the closing 7 kilometres was caught in the final meters of the race. Two-time defending champion, Philippe Gilbert, (BMC Racing Team) had to settle for sixth behind Thomas Voeckler (Europcar).
BMC had controlled the race throughout much of the closing stages but Gilbert was left to do all the work on the final ascent of the Cauberg. His acceleration first brought back Niki Terpstra (Omega Pharma QuckStep) and then Freire's dying legs to within touching distance. However the move proved as a spring board for the podium placers.
Sagan was the first rider to come around the Belgian champion but he too ran out of gas, with Gasparotto accelerating on his left and Vanendert on his right.
Maastricht treaty lasts until opening climbs
The riders had left the chilly start city of Maastricht with a blessing of rain drops and a cold northern wind on their noses. Typically many riders tried break clear on the first of the 31 climbs but nobody gained enough in the first hour of the race, which was covered at 45kph.
After nearly 60 kilometers of racing a large group finally was allowed to go. Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale), Pello Bilbao (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Raymond Kreder (Garmin-Barracuda), Alex Howes (Garmin-Barracuda), Steven Caethoven (Accent Jobs-Willems Veranda), Cedric Pineau (FDJ-Big Mat), Simone Stortoni (Lampre-ISD), Sébastien Delfosse (Landbouwkrediet-Euphony) and Eliot Lietar (Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator) were the lucky men.
During the second hour they gathered a maximum lead of 13:30 on the peloton, with no teams wanting to chase. Eventually RadioShack-Nissan, BMC and Katusha took the responsibility and gradually the gap went down.
When approaching the second ascent of the Cauberg the pace in the peloton increased even more and after the Vrakelberg a first group of riders was caught behind the peloton, including outsider Cadel Evans (BMC). In front, the breakaway group lost ground. On top of the Cauberg the gap was down to less than five minutes and that was also where Evans abandoned the race.
With 55 km to go the breakaway group still had four minutes on the peloton. Jurgen Van den Broeck (Lotto-Belisol) went down on the Bemelerberg and even though he was assisted by a couple of teammates his race was almost over. When the pace increased inside the final 30 kilometres he was dropped. Meanwhile Danish rider Matti Breschel (Rabobank) also abandoned the race.
The Wolfsberg, at 41km from the finish line on the Cauberg, was the first of the last string of eight climbs. It proved to be the ground where the Astana moved forward. The gap quickly dropped below two minutes and the speed went up another notch when Chris Anker Sorensen (Saxo Bank) attacked the peloton, without much success.
In front Bardet, Bilbao, Howes and Stortoni dropped their fellow breakaway companions although Kreder and Delfosse returned little later. The six remaining leaders entered the last 30km with an advantage of 1:10.
The break split further when Bardet and Howes accelerated again.
Boasson Hagen was the first contender to attack inside the final 15 kilometres but the Sky rider was unable to gain more than 100 meters, with the BMC trio of Mauro Santambrogio, Greg Van Avermaet and Gilbert holding court at the head of the race.
Avermaet, was the perfect teammate, sacrificing his chances for Gilbert, who was either confident of taking on Sagan in the sprint or lacked the legs to attack earlier.
On the penultimate climb of the Keutenberg, Boasson Hagen was swiftly brought back, with Bardet shelling his breakaway companion for the second and final time.
Sky, Astana and Katusha were able to send probing attacks off the front, and Thomas Voeckler and Sagan went briefly alone, but it was Freire who struck a decisive blow with 7km to go, just after Bardet was finally swallowed up.
Freire has never made the podium in Amstel and with Rabobank having such a poor race with Breschel out and Gesink already dropped, Freire's former Dutch team must have been reeling when the Spaniard had a gap of 13 seconds.
But it wouldn't be a Spring Classic without Omega Pharma-Quickstep having their say, and Niki Terpstra accelerated away in pursuit of the Spaniard as the race descended from the Keutenberg.
At the foot of the Cauberg Terpstra had failed to make contact, with a tiring Van Avermaet leading a 20-strong group with Gilbert latched to his wheel.
Gilbert's attack displayed elements of panic and reluctant acceptance at the same time, the rider well aware that everyone was watching him, while also knowing that Freire was on the cusp of a shock win.
Terpstra was quickly reeled in and Gilbert's second acceleration caused the chase group to splinter. Damiano Cunego (Lampre) crashed along with Lars-Peter Nordhaug (Sky), and with a fading Freire unable to hold on the race came down to the strongest, but also the freshest in the sprint for the line.
Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Pro Team Astana | 6:32:35 |
2 | Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team | |
3 | Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale | 0:00:02 |
4 | Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Katusha Team | |
5 | Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar | |
6 | Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team | |
7 | Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | |
8 | Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Garmin-Barracuda | 0:00:04 |
9 | Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale | |
10 | Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | |
11 | Maxim Iglinsky (Kaz) Pro Team Astana | |
12 | Frank Schleck (Lux) Radioshack-Nissan | |
13 | Elia Favilli (Ita) Farnese Vini - Selle Italia | |
14 | Dries Devenyns (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep | 0:00:09 |
15 | Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin-Barracuda | |
16 | Nicki Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank | 0:00:12 |
17 | Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Katusha Team | |
18 | Thomas Dekker (Ned) Garmin-Barracuda | |
19 | Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa (Por) Movistar Team | |
20 | Simon Gerrans (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team | 0:00:19 |
21 | Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Col) Sky Procycling | |
22 | Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Movistar Team | 0:00:22 |
23 | Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team Saxo Bank | |
24 | Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Katusha Team | |
25 | Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:00:30 |
26 | Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team | 0:00:36 |
27 | Vasili Kiryienka (Blr) Movistar Team | |
28 | Niki Terpstra (Ned) Omega Pharma-Quickstep | |
29 | Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) Pro Team Astana | |
30 | Alex Howes (USA) Garmin-Barracuda | 0:00:47 |
31 | Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre - ISD | 0:00:51 |
32 | Mikael Cherel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:01:05 |
33 | Paul Martens (Ger) Rabobank Cycling Team | |
34 | Chris Anker Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank | |
35 | Daniele Pietropolli (Ita) Lampre - ISD | |
36 | Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team | |
37 | Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Omega Pharma-Quickstep | |
38 | Johnny Hoogerland (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | 0:01:17 |
39 | Gianni Meersman (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team | |
40 | Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) Sky Procycling | |
41 | Arthur Vichot (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat | 0:01:30 |
42 | Vincent Jerome (Fra) Team Europcar | |
43 | Pieter Serry (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator | 0:02:03 |
44 | Simon Geschke (Ger) Argos - Shimano | |
45 | Davy Commeyne (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Euphony | |
46 | Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Argos - Shimano | |
47 | Laurens De Vreese (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator | |
48 | Eduard Vorganov (Rus) Katusha Team | |
49 | Kévin Reza (Fra) Team Europcar | |
50 | Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat | |
51 | Pieter Jacobs (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator | |
52 | Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | |
53 | Kevin De Weert (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep | |
54 | Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | |
55 | Matteo Carrara (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | |
56 | Dirk Bellemakers (Ned) Landbouwkrediet-Euphony | |
57 | Manuele Mori (Ita) Lampre - ISD | |
58 | Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat | |
59 | Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | |
60 | Michel Kreder (Ned) Garmin-Barracuda | |
61 | Rob Ruijgh (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | |
62 | Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling | |
63 | Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Movistar Team | 0:02:21 |
64 | Romain Sicard (Fra) Euskaltel - Euskadi | |
65 | Geoffrey Soupe (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat | |
66 | Pier Paolo De Negri (Ita) Farnese Vini - Selle Italia | |
67 | Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Pro Team Astana | |
68 | Evgeny Petrov (Rus) Pro Team Astana | |
69 | Gorka Izaguirre Insausti (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | |
70 | Ben Hermans (Bel) Radioshack-Nissan | |
71 | Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Omega Pharma-Quickstep | |
72 | Federico Canuti (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | |
73 | Maciej Paterski (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale | |
74 | Maxime Monfort (Bel) Radioshack-Nissan | |
75 | Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin-Barracuda | |
76 | David Tanner (Aus) Team Saxo Bank | |
77 | Pablo Lastras Garcia (Spa) Movistar Team | |
78 | Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Pro Team Astana | |
79 | Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) BMC Racing Team | 0:02:40 |
80 | Marco Marcato (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | 0:02:51 |
81 | Sander Armee (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator | 0:03:01 |
82 | Christopher Horner (USA) Radioshack-Nissan | 0:03:19 |
83 | Angel Madrazo Ruiz (Spa) Movistar Team | 0:03:43 |
84 | Arnaud Gerard (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat | 0:04:32 |
85 | Martin Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quickstep | |
86 | Bruno Pires (Por) Team Saxo Bank | 0:04:46 |
87 | Michael Albasini (Swi) GreenEdge Cycling Team | |
88 | Imanol Erviti (Spa) Movistar Team | |
89 | Bert De Waele (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Euphony | |
90 | Johan Van Summeren (Bel) Garmin-Barracuda | |
91 | Andy Schleck (Lux) Radioshack-Nissan | 0:05:39 |
92 | Dennis Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team | |
93 | Francis De Greef (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team | |
94 | Angelo Tulik (Fra) Team Europcar | |
95 | Jurgen Van Goolen (Bel) Accent Jobs - Willems Veranda's | |
96 | Lars Boom (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | |
97 | Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Argos - Shimano | |
98 | Ben Gastauer (Lux) AG2R La Mondiale | |
99 | Christopher Juul Jensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank | |
100 | Julien Berard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
101 | Troels Ronning Vinther (Den) Team Saxo Bank | |
102 | Dominik Nerz (Ger) Liquigas-Cannondale | 0:07:00 |
103 | Alessandro Spezialetti (Ita) Lampre - ISD | |
104 | Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | |
105 | Leonardo Bertagnolli (Ita) Lampre - ISD | |
106 | Xabier Zandio Echaide (Spa) Sky Procycling | |
107 | Yann Huguet (Fra) Argos - Shimano | |
108 | Mathew Hayman (Aus) Sky Procycling | |
109 | Luca Paolini (Ita) Katusha Team | |
110 | Simone Ponzi (Ita) Pro Team Astana | 0:07:33 |
111 | Bjorn Thurau (Ger) Team Europcar | |
112 | Pim Ligthart (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | 0:08:02 |
113 | Bertjan Lindeman (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | |
114 | Jelle Wallays (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator | |
115 | Reinier Honig (Ned) Landbouwkrediet-Euphony | |
116 | Xavier Florencio Cabre (Spa) Katusha Team | |
117 | Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Argos - Shimano | |
118 | Jan Bakelants (Bel) Radioshack-Nissan | 0:11:26 |
119 | Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team | |
120 | Michael Schär (Swi) BMC Racing Team | |
121 | Klaas Lodewyck (Bel) BMC Racing Team | |
122 | Eliot Lietaer (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator | |
123 | Damiano Caruso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | |
124 | Daniele Ratto (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | 0:11:31 |
125 | Cédric Pineau (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat | |
126 | Giovanni Bernaudeau (Fra) Team Europcar | |
127 | Matteo Rabottini (Ita) Farnese Vini - Selle Italia | |
128 | Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
129 | Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team | |
130 | Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | |
131 | Daryl Impey (RSA) GreenEdge Cycling Team | |
132 | Bram Tankink (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | |
133 | Mads Christensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank | |
134 | Steven Caethoven (Bel) Accent Jobs - Willems Veranda's | |
135 | Simon Clarke (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team | |
136 | Oleg Chuzhda (Ukr) Accent Jobs - Willems Veranda's | |
137 | Peio Bilbao (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | |
138 | Sébastien Delfosse (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Euphony | |
139 | Borut Bozic (Slo) Pro Team Astana | |
140 | Yukihiro Doi (Jpn) Argos - Shimano | |
141 | Simone Stortoni (Ita) Lampre - ISD | |
142 | Steve Chainel (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat | |
143 | Raymond Kreder (Ned) Garmin-Barracuda | |
144 | Brian Bulgac (Ned) Lotto Belisol Team | |
145 | Marco Bandiera (Ita) Omega Pharma-Quickstep | |
DNF | Manuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC Racing Team | |
DNF | Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team | |
DNF | Martin Kohler (Swi) BMC Racing Team | |
DNF | Martin Elmiger (Swi) AG2R La Mondiale | |
DNF | Ricardo Garcia Ambroa (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | |
DNF | Ruben Perez Moreno (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | |
DNF | Jorge Azanza Soto (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | |
DNF | Jens Keukeleire (Bel) GreenEdge Cycling Team | |
DNF | Jens Mouris (Ned) GreenEdge Cycling Team | |
DNF | Christian Meier (Can) GreenEdge Cycling Team | |
DNF | Alberto Losada Alguacil (Spa) Katusha Team | |
DNF | Angel Vicioso Arcos (Spa) Katusha Team | |
DNF | Yuriy Krivtsov (Fra) Lampre - ISD | |
DNF | Diego Ulissi (Ita) Lampre - ISD | |
DNF | Stefano Agostini (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | |
DNF | Jens Debusschere (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team | |
DNF | Jurgen Van De Walle (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team | |
DNF | Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Omega Pharma-Quickstep | |
DNF | Matti Breschel (Den) Rabobank Cycling Team | |
DNF | Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | |
DNF | Laurent Didier (Lux) Radioshack-Nissan | |
DNF | Joost Posthuma (Ned) Radioshack-Nissan | |
DNF | Davide Appollonio (Ita) Sky Procycling | |
DNF | Lars Petter Nordhaug (Nor) Sky Procycling | |
DNF | Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Sky Procycling | |
DNF | Wouter Poels (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | |
DNF | Gregory Habeaux (Bel) Accent Jobs - Willems Veranda's | |
DNF | Staf Scheirlinckx (Bel) Accent Jobs - Willems Veranda's | |
DNF | Stefan Van Dijk (Ned) Accent Jobs - Willems Veranda's | |
DNF | Arnoud Van Groen (Ned) Accent Jobs - Willems Veranda's | |
DNF | Kevin Van Melsen (Bel) Accent Jobs - Willems Veranda's | |
DNF | Francesco Failli (Ita) Farnese Vini - Selle Italia | |
DNF | Oscar Gatto (Ita) Farnese Vini - Selle Italia | |
DNF | Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Farnese Vini - Selle Italia | |
DNF | Roberto De Patre (Ita) Farnese Vini - Selle Italia | |
DNF | Kurt Hovelynck (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Euphony | |
DNF | Egidijus Juodvalkis (Ltu) Landbouwkrediet-Euphony | |
DNF | Roy Curvers (Ned) Argos - Shimano | |
DNF | Albert Timmer (Ned) Argos - Shimano | |
DNF | Franck Bouyer (Fra) Team Europcar | |
DNF | Christophe Kern (Fra) Team Europcar | |
DNF | Pieter Vanspeybrouck (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator | |
DNF | Preben Van Hecke (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator |
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