For the second year running, the Amstel Gold Race went off script with Czech outsider Roman Kreuziger making the most of an indecisive peloton to solo to the biggest single-day victory of his career.
Kreuziger’s name had been touted by some in-the-know as a possible long-shot ahead of the 251km race through the Dutch hills of Limberg – but all the sensible money was on Belgium’s Philippe Gilbert, who became world champion in such emphatic fashion on an identical course last September, and the in-form Peter Sagan.
But Slovak sensation Sagan, who beat Gilbert to take the midweek semi-classic Brabantse Pijl, was nowhere to be seen as Gilbert battled for a place on the podium 22 seconds after Kreuziger had crossed the finish line to secure his first win since joining Bjarne Riis at Saxo Bank-Tinkoff.
Despite a spirited attack up the Cauberg and despite leading out the sprint for sloppy seconds in Valkenburg, Gilbert could only manage fifth place while Sagan – practically a ghost all day – was almost a full minute off the pace as he came home in 36th place.
The 23-year-old doesn’t have a celebration for such a lowly finish – and even if he did, no one would have seen it, for all eyes were on Kreuziger embracing his Saxo soigneurs.
Bizarrely, it was Movistar’s Alejandro Valverde who proved strongest in the sprint for the Amstel Silver, the Spanish whippet edging out his old sparring partner, the chunkier Simon Gerrans of Orica-GreenEdge, to compete a podium which would have looked more realistic in reverse order.
Kreuziger’s win was a triumph of opportunism.
Sensing indecision in the pack, the 26-year-old broke clear of the peloton on the penultimate ascent of the Cauberg 20km from the finish.
The Czech rider caught up with the remnants of the day’s main break who in turn reeled in lone leader Mikel Astarloza on the Bemelerberg 15km from the finish.
What should have then happened was obvious: with the seven leaders only holding 30 seconds over the chasing pack there was no way that Kreuziger – or any of the escapees – looked likely to be raising a celebratory pint of Amstel fizzy lager in 30 minutes’ time.
Perhaps a rider like Joaquim Rodriguez wouldn’t have been so tentative – but by now the Spanish uphill-finish specialist had already quit the race after hitting the deck hard on a tight muddy bend 45km from the finish.
French veteran Thomas Voeckler could well have provided the spark needed to ignite the peloton’s fuse – but the Europcar leader was already on his way to Maastricht hospital with a suspected broken collarbone after crashing in a huge pile-up 92km from the finish.
The same pile-up had caught up the rainbow jersey – and it was Gilbert who eventually led the chase, as is his wont, when the pack hit the Cauberg for the final time.
But it was too late. Kreuziger had already caught his fellow fugitives napping with an unexpected dig on the final ascent of the Bemelerberg 7km from the finish.
He started the Cauberg with 25 seconds over the pack and held on to post the biggest win of his career – and a first scalp since taking stage 19 of the Giro d’Italia last year.
Looking very much like the actor Christian Bale during one of his hefty weight-loss programmes, Kreuziger had the time to ease up and savour the victory, raising his skinny arms aloft and absorbing the cheers in Valkenburg.
Such a win will be a boost to the rider, who experienced two decidedly so-so years at Astana after quitting Liquigas back in 2010.
It is perhaps a sign that Bjarne Riis’s winning mentality is paying off – although it remains to be seen where Kreuziger fits into the Grand Tour plans for a squad that also features Alberto Contador, Nicolas Roche and Michael Rogers.
The sight of Kreuziger taking the plaudits on Sunday will not have impressed everyone, however.
Kreuziger was named by former Liquigas team-mate and now retired rider Leonardo Bertagnolli in the USADA witness statements back last October as a client of the infamous doctor Michele Ferrari.
Seeing Valverde win the sprint for second will have elicited more groans from the critics too.
Those gripes aside, the 48th edition of Amstel Gold was a thoroughly enjoyable affair with buckets of talking points and subplots.
After a simply torrid display in the Flandrian classics and their home Tour of the Basque Country, Euskaltel were out in force – and you got the impression it wasn’t merely because the sun was out.
Team management and sponsors clearly told their men to up their game and Astarloza rolled back the years with a long and defiant break, while Igor Anton had a spirited pop on the Cauberg.
If Euskaltel’s fortunes improved then those of Europcar dropped to the other end of the spectrum, with Voeckler’s injury the tip of the iceberg.
Davide Malacarne and Bjorn Thurau both crashed out with bad knocks, while the team’s highest placed rider at the finish was Yukiya Arashiro in 24th. After such a strong showing over the cobbles of Flanders and north France, this was a cruel coming down to earth for everyone’s favourite Pro Continental outfit.
Team Sky continued to confound as they sought that elusive classics win. Edvald Boasson Hagen was nowhere to be seen while Sergio Henao’s sixth place was small consolation for a team with such a big budget.
The bright green shirts of Cannondale added a day-glow veneer to the peloton for most of the race before someone flicked the off-switch and the lights were extinguished as the race entered its critical stage.
Blanco rode aggressively but ultimately left empty handed despite Bauke Mollema creeping into the top ten.
With Fabian Cancellara taking the week off after his Ronde-Roubaix double, RadioShack-Leopard were pretty nondescript – the sight of Andy Schleck trying in vain to fight back onto the peloton after the Voeckler incident the only moment of note besides a late surge by youngster Ben Hermans.
Schleck retired from the race in what will be yet another set-back for the Luxembourger as his bids to rediscover the form which saw him win Liege-Bastogne-Liege in 2009 and the Tour de France one year later. You sense that it’s becoming increasingly a lost cause.
Pieter Weening impressed for GreenEdge with an opportunistic attack 37km from the finish to catch the leading group.
But Gerrans never had a chance to show his strength with the race already sewn up by the time the pack hit the Cauberg for the final, would-be-decisive climb.
Just like Enrico Gasparotto 12 months ago, it was Roman Kreuziger who managed to pull the rug from under the feet of the peloton. It’s a result the Czech may never be able to repeat and so he should savour it with a few more pints of Amstel, that’s for sure.
2013 Amstel Gold result: >> Read the live blog here
Result
1 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 6:35:21
2 Alejandro Valverdo Belmonte 0:00:22
3 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
4 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
5 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team
6 Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Col) Sky Procycling
7 Björn Leukemans (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
8 Pieter Weening (Ned) Orica-GreenEdge
9 Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Astana Pro Team
10 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team
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