Italian's focus moves to Giro del Trentino before Liège
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Damiano Cunego (Lampre-ISD) and Lars-Petter Nordhaug (Team Sky) hit the deck 300m from the line at Amstel Gold(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Gilbert attacks just before Cunego crashes(Image credit: Sirotti)
Enrico Gasparotto (Team Astana), Jelle Vanendert (Team Lotto Belisol) and Peter Sagan (Team Liquigas) avoid the Cunego crash(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Damiano Cunego seals the victory in the 2008 Amstel Gold Race(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Damiano Cunego (Lampre-ISD) on a climb barely wide enough for his team car to negotiate.(Image credit: Susanne Goetze / cyclinginside.com)
Lampre-ISD's Damiano Cunego was making his way through the lead group heading towards the finish line at Amstel Gold Race when he hit the tarmac with just 300 metres left to race. Cunego also brought down Sky's Lars-Petter Nordhaug with the pair left to animatedly wonder what might have been at the race left them behind.
"It's been a while, I can't even describe in a precise way what really happened," Cunego said in the team media release post-race. "I know that's an enormous pity since I was pedaling very well. When Gilbert attacked, I waited for few seconds since I thought he started too early; then, when I chose to follow him, I crashed with Nordhaug."
Nordhaug was left with a bruised hip but is likely to be available for La Fleche Wallonne on Wednesday.
The 2008 winner of Amstel Gold Race had been gradually building his form with top ten finishes at both the Volta a Catalunya and the Tour of the Basque Country and was confident of a good performance on Sunday.
With Liège - Bastogne - Liège still on his agenda next weekend, Cunego's focus now shifts to the Giro del Trentino beginning Tuesday.
"Yeah, it's good training for Liège, plus when I did Trentino in 2006 I had my best Liège, when I came third," he told Cyclingnews last week. "I've done Flèche the other years and I never got to Liège in good condition as a result of it. It doesn't do me much good to be holed up in a hotel for days the week of Liège, it suits me better to race."
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