Race interrupted for an hour: Vos wins Amstel Gold Race, Wiebes cheers too early

Lorena Wiebes (Team SD WorxProtime) was almost certain to win the women's Amstel Gold Race, but then threw it away. A prime example of such a situation is Erik Zabel's non-victory at Milan-San Remo in 2004, when he threw his hands up in celebration before realising that Oscar Freire had passed him in the last few centimetres. Wiebes now suffered the same fate in the Ardennes classic.

After the final ascent of the Cauberg, the Dutchwoman was ideally positioned by team-mate Demi Vollering for the final sprint of a group of around 20 riders, pulled out of the slipstream of Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek) and had a clear run to the finish line over the last 100 metres. The victory was out of her grasp, or at least that's what must have been going through Wiebes' head, as she stopped pedalling before the finish line, raised her arms and celebrated her victory - albeit too early.

Because in the last few centimetres, Marianne Vos (Visma | Lease a Bike) shot past her with more speed and a tiger's leap. The finish photo was clear. Third place went to the Norwegian Ingvild Gaskjenn (Liv AlUla Jayco) ahead of Pfeiffer Georgi (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) and Borghini.

Race interrupted after motorbike accident

In between, however, the race came to a standstill. As the Limburg police announced on social media, a police motorcyclist collided with a vehicle on the Bergseweg, the third climb of the race. The police officer was taken to hospital and the accident site, and therefore the climb, was closed. The peloton then had to stop after 46 kilometres.

After around an hour, the organisers then decided to let the peloton ride to Valkenburg in neutral and resume the race there. This reduced the race distance from 157 to just 101 kilometres. The Kruisberg, Eyserbosweg, Fromberg and Keutenberg climbs were also removed from the programme. The finale was also shortened from four to three final laps with the climb up to the Cauberg.

Ricarda Bauernfeind overtaken shortly before the finish

Ricarda Bauernfeind (Canyon//SRAM Racing) from Ingolstadt put in a strong performance after the restart, breaking away from the field on the second lap at Bemerlerberg with Yara Kastelijn (Fenix-Deceuninck) and Eva van Agt (Visma-Lease a Bike). With 35 kilometres to go to the finish, the trio had a lead of around a minute at times and had justified hopes of victory.

However, thanks to the chasing work of Lidl-Trek and others, the group of favourites caught up with the three breakaway riders on the final ascent to the Cauberg 1.9 kilometres before the finish. World champion Lotte Kopecky (Team SD Worx - Protime) lost the connection there, but there were no decisive attacks. A larger group finally reached the finishing straight - with a dramatic outcome for Wiebes. Bauerfeind finished the race in 18th place.

Amstel Gold Race 2024: Results - the top 10

1. Marianne Vos (Visma | Lease a Bike) 2:35:02
2. Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx - Protime) +0:00
3. Ingvild Gaskjenn (Liv AlUla Jayco)
4. Pfeiffer Georgi (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) +0:00
5. Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek) +0:00
6. Eleonora Gasparrini (UAE Team ADQ) +0:00
7. Ashleigh Moolman (AG Insurance-Soudal Team) +0:00
8. Amber Kraak (FDJ-Suez) +0:00
9. Yara Kastelijn (Fenix-Deceuninck) +0:00
10. Soraya Paladin (Canyon//SRAM Racing) +0:00