Amstel Gold Race, a challenging 256.5 kilometer race with 31 climbs, came down to which riders could hold their power up the final 1200m, 5.8% Cauberg. Niki Terpstra tried his best to bridge to Oscar Freire (Katusha Team) with just 2km to go.
However, a surging peloton caught Terpstra, as he and Freire both struggled to keep momentum up a steep gradient near the end of a hard day of racing. Freire was caught just meters before the line, as Enrico Gasparotto (Astana Pro Team) beat Jelle Vanendert (Lotto-Belisol) and Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale) for the victory on Sunday.
Dries Devenyns was the top finisher for Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team, in 14th place (+09). Terpstra finished 28th (+36).
The peloton caught the last remaining rider of an original nine man break — Romain Bardet (AG2R) — with 9km remaining. Kevin de Weert and Sylvain Chavanel were both at the front of the peloton to assist with the chase. Jerome Pineau, Martin Velits, and Marco Bandiera also worked hard. A group of challenging climbs in the final km caused a peloton split, leaving many riders out of race contention.
