Bredewold triumphs in thrilling Amstel finale, Van Dijk and Pieterse complete the Dutch party

The opening of the triptych in the foothills of the Ardennes took place on the familiar course. The Cauberg, Keutenberg, Geulhemmerberg, Bemelerberg... It was a beautiful course that appealed to some big names. Pretty much the entire world's elite was present in Maastricht. Demi Vollering and Lotte Kopecky were there, as were Lorena Wiebes, Elisa Longo Borghini, Puck Pieterse, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, and defending champion Marianne Vos. In the sunny south of the country, we were in for a wonderful afternoon of racing.

Just like in the Brabantse Pijl on Friday, forming an early breakaway in the Amstel Gold Race was difficult. But after 45 minutes, nine women broke away, including Dutch riders Maud Rijnbeek, Manon de Boer, Vera Tieleman, and cyclo-cross star Ceylin Alvarado. It was a strong leading group, but they didn't get much advantage: before the first passage of the Cauberg, the peloton caught the group. Vollering had already fallen, but fortunately, the FDJ-SUEZ rider could continue.

The pace was high, so things opened up entirely at the back of the pack. The peloton rapidly thinned out but did not prevent a strong group from breaking away. Eighteen women rode away, including Wiebes, Mischa Bredewold, and Blanka Vas. The SD Worx-Protime block was joined by Puck Pieterse, Yara Kasteleijn (Fenix-Deceuninck), Alison Jackson (EF Education - Oatly), Ellen van Dijk, Anna Henderson (Lidl-Trek) and Silvia Persico (UAE Team ADQ), among others. It was a strong breakaway group, but the biggest favorites were still in the peloton. However, they were no longer setting the pace: with 35 kilometers to go, the gap was already almost 2 minutes.

The gap remained stable, and the race stabilized until the penultimate passage of the Cauberg. Accelerations by Juliette Labous (FDJ-SUEZ) and Pieterse caused several riders to drop back. The cyclo-cross rider pushed hard, also on the Geulhemmerberg. Labous could keep up, but the rest had to let a gap open up. The strong Persico made the crossing, so three women entered the final. Van Dijk and Bredewold followed a few seconds behind.

The pair managed to catch up just before the Bemelerberg. Wiebes' group was already significantly behind and lost more and more time with every kilometer. Vollering, Kopecky, and all the other top favorites were completely beaten: the strongest riders were simply at the front. Van Dijk knew she had to avoid a sprint and made a breakaway, but her attack was easily countered.

However, she didn't leave it at that. She pushed hard again with 5 kilometers to go, and only Bredewold could follow. Pieterse, Labous, and Persico had been the strongest earlier, but now they seemed exhausted. With 10 seconds to go, the two turned onto the Cauberg. Bredewold broke away, immediately leaving Van Dijk behind. But Pieterse and Labous returned to Van Dijk. The trio worked together, but Bredewold had enough strength to stay ahead. She thus claimed the most beautiful victory of her career, ahead of Van Dijk and Pieterse.