As it happened: Pogacar delivers another exhibition at Amstel Gold Race

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Slovenian recovers from bike change to go clear alone on Keutenberg

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Welcome to live coverage of Amstel Gold Race. The peloton will roll out of Maastricht at 10.45 local time and they are scheduled to hit kilometre zero at 10.50. 253.6km and 33 climbs separate them from the finish in Berg en Terblijt. 

There are 175 starters in Maastricht, including two-time winner Michal Kwiatkowski, Tom Pidcock, Benoit Cosnefroy, Jai Hindley and Tiesj Benoot, but all eyes will be on Tadej Pogacar, who arrives in Limburg looking to pick up his campaign where he left off in Flanders. That Ronde win was the Slovenian's 10th victory of the season and he insisted in the build-up to this event that the "hunger is still there" for more success in this remarkable opening phase to his season. The last leg of Pogacar's Spring campaign begins here and continues at Fleche Wallonne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege. 

A year ago, even though the route was more or less the same, there was a slightly different felt to Amstel Gold Race due to the fact that it came a week earlier than usual following a swap of dates with Paris-Roubaix to accommodate the French presidential election. It ensured that a number of men with designs on Roubaix glory - most notably, Mathieu van der Poel - lined out in Limburg. Victory ultimately fell to Michal Kwiatkowski even if the unfortunate Benoit Cosnefroy thought he had done enough to claim the decision.

After signing on in Maastricht, Benoit Cosnefroy cast his mind back to last year briefly before looking ahead to today's race. "No, it was a good memory," he said, when asked about the images of last year's sprint on the big screen at the start today. "Everybody wanted me to cry at the finish but I took a lot of pleasure from Amstel last year, sprinting for the win. I hope I can enjoy it as much this year. For me, it will be a hard race as it will be in Pogacar’s interest to make the race difficult. That’s what he’ll try to do with a strong team around him. But the finale of Amstel can often be tactical, and I hope it will be. That might offset any numerical superiority and make it more complicated if he has more than one rival to watch."

The peloton has rolled away from the start and is making its way through the neutralised zone. There is one non-starter to report: Andrej Zeits (Astana-Qazaqstan) has been forced out this morning due to illness.

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The details of the succession of ups and downs and twists and turns in the long and winding road around Limburg are available here. These hills are not, of course, part of the Ardennes, which begin over the border in Belgium and stretch south towards Luxembourg, but this race has come to be grouped in both date and style with the Ardennes Classics. When the race finished atop the Cauberg between 2003 and 2012, it certainly felt a little too similar to Fleche Wallonne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege, and shifting the finish line a kilometre or so beyond the climb, as the organisation did from 2013 to 2016, did little to change that. The move to the current configuration in 2017, however, has made this a very different and more open kind of race. 

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Amstel Gold Race

The peloton is content to allow the break gain some early leeway at Amstel Gold Race. (Image credit: Getty)

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Tadej Pogacar cut a relaxed figure at the start in Maastricht: "I like Ardennes, I really like them. The last few years I didn’t do Amstel but it’s really good to include it back into this programme. It’s a really tactical race and hectic, super-fast with short climbs, but I think we have a good team to stay at the front. I know the key climbs but I don’t have a good pronunciation in Dutch so I won’t say them. It’s totally different to cobbled Classics but it’s also different to Liège. It has its own little charm. It’s a beautiful race."

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A puncture for Tom Pidcock, but the Briton gets a quick change and immediately rejoins the peloton. Out in front, meanwhile, the leading septet are over the second climb, the Adsteeg.

At the start, Tom Pidcock downplayed the idea that the entire bunch was waiting for Pogacar's inevitable volley of attacks in the finale - or sooner. Amstel remains Amstel. "Of course you have to be ready for Tadej to attack, because this is the guy you can’t give a gap to, but then again you can’t base your whole race around one rider either,"  Pidcock said. "You have to nail certain sections and this race has a lot of points where you need to be at the front as a team, so those tactics don’t change. I only raced the full circuit here once. It’s a super hard race and one I really like."

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The breakaway at Amstel Gold Race 2023

Early escapees Mathias Vacek (Trek-Segafredo), Leon Heinschke (DSM), Mattéo Vercher (TotalEnergies), Ward Vanhoof (Flanders-Baloise), Tobias Ludvigsson, Alessandro Fedeli (Q36.5) and Martin Urianstad (Uno-X). (Image credit: Getty)

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Matej Mohoric crashed out of the Tour of Flanders and had to settle for 29th at Paris-Roubaix, but his Bahrain Victorious team has been prominent towards the head of the peloton thus far. “I was feeling good in Roubaix, the condition and the legs are there. It’s frustrating that I didn’t get any results in the big races so far but I’ll try to turn that around in Amstel, Flèche and Liège," Mohoric said at the start. "I don’t think I’m one of the favourites to win, but we have a strong team here to support me. My ambition is to do a top five result but of course it’s not easy with Pogacar. But we’ll see what happens in the finale. If I’m there in the finale, I think I can follow the move and hopefully get in the selection and then try to play my cards – either by anticipating or by waiting for the sprint and doing the best I can.”

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There has been a definite uptick in the urgency of the peloton and the break's lead is beginning to contract accordingly on the long and relatively flat section that leads towards the day's seventh climb, the Wolfsberg. 

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AG2R Citroen have  been to the fore in helping to control the peloton with UAE, while Ineos Grenadiers have been visible keeping Tom Pidcock as close to the front as possible.

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Amstel Gold Race 2023

Valentin Retailleau leads the way in the peloton for AG2R Citroen. (Image credit: Getty)

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The pace has been ratcheting gradually upwards in the peloton and the break's lead continues to shrink, dropping to just north of two minutes after the day's eighth climb, the Loorberg.

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There are 33km left in the women's race, incidentally, and James Moultrie is describing the action for us. His live coverage is available here.

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Fresh from a sparkling Tour of Flanders debut, Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost) is one of the foremost contenders to take on Pogacar this afternoon. The American's qualities of endurance should be to the fore as this mammoth race draws on. “I was a little bit sick for a few days after Flanders but the last week I was pretty feeling good again. I hope the fitness is still there, I’m still very motivated to do something today," Powless said at the start. "I think the only way we can beat Tadej is to have multiple riders in the finale and make him chase. Hopefully we can come there in the end with two or three riders. It’s hard to do, it’s a technical course, but we have the power to do it. If everybody positions well, hopefully we should be able to be there.”

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The race is back on Dutch roads by now, of course, and this injection of urgency has the feel of the first gentle tinkling of alarm bells in the peloton. The scramble for positions will begin in earnest now and the tension is high.

The break's lead is continuing to shrink rapidly. 40 seconds the gap, and the seven leaders now look like they will struggle to stay out in front until live television pictures start at 14.30 CET.

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Josh Tarling (Ineos), Martin Svrcek (Soudal-QuickStep) and Daryl Impey (Israel Premier Tech) were among the fallers following a crash in the peloton a short time ago. The race is bunch but the tension is high as a new phase is about to begin.

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As live television pictures begin, we can see Tom Pidcock (Ineos) and Alexey Lutsenko (Astana-Qazaqstan) are among the riders in this 16-man group. We're awaiting full confirmation of the rest of the names present, but the gap has stretched out considerably...

Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) is also in this group, and one imagines this could go the distance...

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There's a degree of panic in the peloton, where Benoit Cosnefroy has missed the boat and is trying to accelerate once they hit the Cauberg. It may already be too late for last year's runner-up, given that the Pogacar group seemingly has half a minute, although time gaps are scarce from the organisation.

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Tadej Pogacar raised an arm for his team car, but there are no cars in that gap for now. It's not immediately clear if the Slovenian has a bike issue or if he is seeking a bidon. 

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Bahrain Victorious have taken up the reins of pursuit from Bahrain Victorious, while it's interesting to see Matteo Trentin tucked in third place in the bunch, seemingly to serve as a spolier for Pogacar.

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Bahrain Victorious keep trying to push the pace in the peloton, but the collaboration remains smooth in the front group of 11. The gap remains at 24 seconds.

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Ireland's Ben Healy has enjoyed a fine 2023 season to date, with a stage win at the Settimana Coppi e Bartali and victory at GP Industria & Artigianato before his second place at Brabantse Pijl, and the EF Education-EasyPost rider is in the right place again today - off the front with Pogacar and Pidcock. 

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The collaboration in the break is about as smooth as could be expected considering the competing interests out there, even if some riders are tapping through and presumably citing leaders in the peloton behind. Pogacar seems to be taking a few extra turns to ensure they keep ticking over, however, and the gap remains steady at 30 seconds.

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The crash has split the peloton, too, of course, and amid the confusion, the break's lead has yawned out to 42 seconds on the Loorberg.

Meanwhile, Trek-Segafredo have taken it up in the peloton on behalf of Mattias Skjelmose, but they will be hard pressed to bring back Pogacar, Pidcock and company.

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It appears that Neilson Powless went down in that crash. The American is on his bike, but he has been distanced by the peloton on the Loorberg and it looks as though his race is over.

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Lutsenko climbs from the saddle on the Gulperbergweg while a seated Pogacar looks very comfortable on his rear wheel. Back in the peloton, Bauke Mollema accelerates in a bid to forge across, but it's an ambition that looks beyond his abilities this afternoon. 

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Lars van den Berg, incidentally, never made it back up to the break, leaving ten riders in front. Back in the peloton, meanwhile, Matej Mohoric (Bahrain Victorious) has accelerated and he has helped to form a chasing group of around 20 riders, which also includes Tiesj Benoot (Jumbo-Visma).

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Ide Schelling (Bora-Hansgrohe) attacks from the chasing group, but he has Matteo Trentin (UAE Team Emirates) sitting like a dead weight on his wheel on behalf of Pogacar.

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Can he what? Pogacar closes the gap in double quick time, bridging back up to the break just as they reach the crest of the Kruisberg. Trentin, incidentally, had attacked Schelling in a bid to come across and help Pogacar, but the Slovenian didn't need any help at all.

Pidcock was at the front on the Kruisberg, but the Briton made no apparent effort to profit unduly from Pogacar's bike change. He may rue that generosity of spirit as the afternoon draws on...

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Tadej Pogacar accelerates from the very front of the break on the Eyserbosweg and only Tom Pidcock can resist his forcing. The Briton comes through near the top of the climb, and then Ben Healy does well to make it a group of three at the summit. 

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Lutsenko and Kron look set to get across to Pogacar, Pidcock and Healy out in front. Behind, a group of chasers including Benoot, Mohoric and Schelling have picked off the remnants of the break but it doesn't look like they're getting any closer to Pogacar et al.

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And within another 150 metres, it's one man alone at the head of the race. Pidcock can't resist Pogacar's overwhelming force. The Slovenian is briefly out of the saddle but it looks effortless as he rides Pidcock off his wheel.

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Not for the first time this season and surely not for the last, Pogacar is in a race utterly of his own. Next up for him is the Cauberg and the penultimate passage over the finish line, but he is already on his lap of honour here.

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Pidcock and Healy swap turns on the climb, but the gap to Pogacar is out to 30 seconds and growing. 

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The Cauberg has been climbed for the last time, incidentally. From here, the race tackles the Geulhemmerberg and Bemelerberg before taking a different route back to the finish line.

The third chasing group featuring Hindley, Benoot, Bagioli, Skjelmose crossing the line some 2:32 down on Pogacar. 

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Healy duly drops Pidcock on the Geulhemmerberg, and the Irishman has given himself every chance of claiming second place behind the unassailable Pogacar.

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Healy pushes his way up the Bemelerberg, but Pidcock hasn't given up the ghost, and he's just over 10 seconds back on the Irishman, per the on-screen graphic. But Lutsenko and Kron look to be closing in on Pidcock too...

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And on this evidence, of course, Pogacar will have to be fancied to emulate the late Davide Rebellin (2004) and Philippe Gilbert (2011) as a winner of the Amstel-Fleche-Liege hat-trick.

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Pogacar looks over his shoulder as he rolls down the finishing straight. The beatings will continue until morale improves.

Tadej Pogacar wins Amstel Gold Race.

Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) takes a fine second place, emulating Stephen Roche in 1982.

Tom Pidcock (Ineos) was struggling in the final kilometres but he just holds off Alexey Lutsenko and Andreas Kron to claim the final step of the podium, some 2:16 down on your know who.

Result

Tadej Pogacar

Tadej Pogacar wins Amstel Gold Race (Image credit: Getty)

Tadej Pogacar reveals that he had a flat tyre prior to his bike change just ahead of the Kruisberg: "It’s unbelievable today, actually. I did not expect that we’d go in the breakaway so early. I was on a sort of flat tyre for many ks in the front and I was doubting I could come to the finish solo. In the end I squeezed as much as possible to come to the finish line and I made it.

Pogacar's presence in the front group with 90km to go, he said, was unplanned: " I just went to the front and I saw some really good riders in that group, many riders, so I jumped to the front and our guys could sit at the back and control so either way we were in a good situation because we had in the back Hirschi and Trentin but I think they had some bad luck in the end."

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