Tom Pidcock’s hands were still absolutely wrecked when he won the Amstel Gold Race

Tom Pidcock won Sunday’s 58th Amstel Gold Race, and he did so still bearing the scars of last weekend’s Paris-Roubaix.

The British cyclist took a thrilling sprint finish, leading a group of four riders who had broken away from the main pack with 28 km remaining. Meanwhile, Mathieu van der Poel finished in 22nd place, showing that yes, maybe he is human.

The first ascent of the Cauberg didn’t see much action, as a quartet had already formed a breakaway. However, as the race reached the finish line for the first time, with 79 km to go and 11 climbs remaining, the breakaway was caught up by the chasing peloton. Lidl-Trek took charge as they ascended the Bemelerberg for the first time.

So many mangled hands after Roubaix, except for one rider. Guess who

Between the Bemelerberg and Loorberg, Louis Vervaeke of Soudal-Quick Step attempted to break away twice. His second attempt proved successful as he gained two teammates for support. Behind them, there was a constant battle for control at the front of the peloton.

The break forms

Michal Kwiatkowski made a move on the Gulperberg. This prompted reactions from van der Poel and Matteo Jorgenson, keeping the race lively. As the riders approached the Fromberg, Jorgenson attempted to bridge the gap with Andreas Kron, while Pidcock was among the riders in a breakaway group of a dozen, 20 seconds ahead of the peloton. With 27 km to go and three climbs remaining, their lead extended to 30 seconds.

As they reached the Cauberg, the breakaway group led by Pidcock held a 48-second advantage. Meanwhile, Mattias Skjelmose increased the pace in the peloton, despite having his teammate Bauke Mollema up ahead.

On the penultimate climb, the Geulhemmerberg, Pello Bilbao attacked on the descent. Hirschi attempted to counter, with Pidcock, Benoot, and Vansevenant joining him as they distanced themselves from the rest. With 8 kilometers between them and the last climb, the Bemelerberg. It seemed likely that the winner would emerge from this group.

The break hits the Bemelerberg

As they approached the foot of the Bemelerberg, it appeared that the victor would be one of the quartet led by Pidcock or possibly one of the seven riders chasing behind. However, as Paul Lapeira bridged the gap to the leading group, Pidcock launched an attack, leaving Vansevenant struggling to keep up.

The race concluded with a sprint among the quartet, with Benoot making a push 1.2 km from the finish. Pidcock maneuvered around Bilbao to claim victory, with Hirschi closely behind on his left, and Benoot completing the quartet.

Before the race, Pidcock was definitely hoping for a big day.

“Amstel is a great race and I love racing there, so I hope to go one better this time. As for the Ardennes, these were a big goal of mine from the start of the year so I’m really looking forward to getting stuck in, together with the team,” he said. “It’s always a really nice time of the year.”

As far as his blisters–he was still in the process of healing from the cobbles of Roubaix.

“My hands are still sore. I guess that’s a lesson that you can’t just drop into Paris-Roubaix, that you even need to prepare your hands,” he added. Normally I have no problems with these things, but I didn’t ride my mountain bike or do any of the other cobbled classics so my hands are a bit softer nowadays.”

The next of the Ardennes Classics is La Flèche Wallonne, which takes place on Wednesday. You can watch it on Flobikes.com