Pidcock eases Ineos troubles with brilliant Amstel Gold win | Video

Tom Pidcock has eased the pressure on Ineos Grenadiers, after a very weak season so far, with a fantastic victory in Amstel Gold Race (Photo: Pauline Ballet)

Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) has eased the pressure in his team, after a very weak season to date, by taking a brilliant win after a nail biting finish to Amstel Gold Race.

The British rider, who was one of the animators of the race, reached the line in a four-rider breakaway, which was caught but not passed by a chasing group at the very end of the race, as the remains of the peloton was just seconds back.

It was just the second World Tour win for Ineos Grenadiers this season and the fifth victory on the road for Pidcock since he stepped up to the top flight in 2021.

The favourites, including Irish champion Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) and workd champion Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), were caught out and comprehensively beaten the men up front who took the initiative.

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Pidcock's win today comes three years after he believed he had won the race, only for Wout van Aert (Visma Lease a Bike) to be given the verdict in the tightest of photo finishes, which was not without its controversy.

Today, Pidcock came to the finish and saw up runner-up Marc Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates), 3rd placed Tiesj Benoot (Visma-Lease a Bike) and 4th placed Mauri Vansevenant (Soudal Quick-Step).

Much of the decisive action took place just before the final of the race was expected, with the initial move that sparked the winning breakaway going clear long before the final hour of racing began.

Mikkel Honoré (EF Education-EasyPost) went clear with Louis Vervaeke (Soudal-QuickStep) and, one of the men of the race, Paul Lapeira (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) with about 60km to go, after the Bemelerberg. Though they only ever pulled out a gap of less than 30 seconds, they forced Van der Poel’s Alpecin-Deceuninck to chase hard.

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Other riders then started making their way off the front over the top of the Eyserbosweg with about 35km to go. Even more attackers then jumped clear about 5km later, over the Keutenberg, with Pidcock among them.

Those escapees all joined forces to form a very strong breakaway group, though Honoré was dropped. And then the four strongest pressed on to contest the finish.

That foursome was made up off Pidcock, Marc Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates), Tiesj Benoot (Visma-Lease A Bike) and Mauri Vansevenant (Soudal-QuickStep); the group staying clear for a four-up sprint finishing in that order.

Lapeira struck out from the chasing group and very nearly got across to the leaders, only for Pidcock spotting him and attacking the before keeping the pressure on. And though Lapeira was caught by the chasing group, as Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) led the pursuit in the peloton, the young French rider still won the sprint for 5th.

He was right on the back wheels of the four leaders on the line, finishing on the same time as them. However, Pidcock took a deserved win as he had taken the initiative in the four-man breakaway in the closing stages and looked the strongest of them.

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