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Revisit Mathieu van der Poel’s astonishing Amstel Gold Race victory

Dutch winless streak halted at 17 editions in spectacular fashion

April 17, 2020
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This Sunday would have been the 55th Amstel Gold Race in the Limburg region of the Netherlands, the beginning of the Ardennes Classics. It would have been a tall order for the race to reach the lofty heights that last season’s edition achieved, as Mathieu van der Poel sprinted to a spectacular win.

The day had already seen a cracker of a women’s race, with Katarzyna Niewiadoma dropping her competitors on the final climb of Cauberg to take her only WorldTour victory of the year on her way to fourth overall at season’s end. Canada’s Alison Jackson came ninth.

The men’s race was looking like another round of last spring’s great Julian Alaphilippe versus Jakob Fuglsang tussle, which began at Strade Bianche and would continue to unfurl in Ardennes Week. The duo attacked and went clear on the Kruisberg and Michael Woods was among the chasers.

Fuglsang couldn’t shake Alaphilippe, and the cat and mouse games they played over the last few kilometres doomed their aspirations. Michal Kwiatkowski managed to bridge from a 10-strong chase group that included van der Poel. The Dutchman led the pursuit, which caught the trio with 650-metres to go. Undaunted by the work he had just completed, van der Poel sprinted up the right hand side and took the famous win, grabbing his head in disbelief. Woods’ teammate Simon Clarke, runner up, was too astonished to be upset and patted van der Poel on the back as they freewheeled past the line. Fuglsang was third; he would win Liege-Bastogne-Liege the next Sunday after coming runner-up to Alaphilippe at La Fleche Wallonne.

Van der Poel had only one 2020 stage race under his belt when the season was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, coming 45th at the Volta ao Algarve.