Cycling: Wout Van Aert wins the Amstel Gold Race

The Amstel Gold Race was cancelled last year due to the health crisis, but this year the race could be organised on a new 17-km circuit that was ridden 13 times through the municipalities of Maastricht and Valkenburg. Nevertheless, the event retained all its prestige, since the organisers had maintained the main difficulties that make it attractive.

This 2021 version of the Dutch classic was particularly packed with unexpected twists from the start of the last lap. It was then, with the last climb of the Cauberg, that Wout Van Aert decided to launch a blistering attack to explode the peloton. He was then leading just two chasers in his wake.

At a frantic pace, the three riders who had broken free found themselves in the home stretch, which would be decided in a sprint. Just like a few days earlier, at the Brabantse Pijl race, the young Antwerp cyclist found himself involved in an intense duel with British rider Tom Pidcock. The two riders crossed the finish line together after 202 km of racing. But when the suspense was over, it was the Belgian rider who was proclaimed winner according to the photo finish.

This victory in a great classic is still a fantastic performance, even if it came down to just a few millimetres.