Marianne Vos has added Amstel Gold to her recent victory in Gent Wevelgem, but the Jumbo Visma rider suffered a late scare right on the finish line.
Vos put in a brilliant sprint from the front group to take the win but she started celebrating very early and freewheeled across the line with her hands in the air.
As she was enjoying that celebrating, Demi Vollering of SD Worx was coming up behind her like a steam train and very nearly got her on the line, making for a nail-biting final few seconds.
Just last week it was Vollering who celebrated too early at the finish line of Brabantse Pijl, with Ruth Winder (Trek Segafredo) continuing to sprint all the way and lunging at the line to take the victory.
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And while Vollering very nearly turned that scenario around today, Vos had a decent advantage on the line and won. However, Vollering's finishing speed was so much faster it made for a nervous finish, with Vos checking with her team just after the finish before being certain she had won.
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Een ongelofelijke ontknoping in de Amstel Gold Race voor vrouwen waar Marianne Vos bijna te vroeg juicht! pic.twitter.com/xFXfF61OFY
— Sporza 🚴 (@sporza_koers) April 18, 2021
Today Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek Segafredo) and Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Canyon Sram) pulled away on the final passage of the Cauberg, though they were caught with less than 400 metres to go and after Longo Borghini would not work up front despite having no sprinter in the group behind.
That set up a sprint from a star-studded front group
after 116km of racing into Berg en Terblijt, with Vos looking
by far the strongest in the sprint to win from Vollering.
It was an important victory for Vos in
such a major classic on Dutch soil as her new women’s Jumbo Visma team is based
in the Netherlands and is in its first season of racing.
Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) had to settle for 3rd place today, with Amanda Spratt (BikeExchange) in 4th and Soraya Paladin (Liv Racing) rounding out the top five.
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