SD Worx-Protime leave Amstel Gold Race empty-handed after attacking ride, but top talent makes huge impression

In the finale, almost every rider from the team could be seen near the front. Anna van der Breggen and Mischa Bredewold tried several times, and even Lorena Wiebes attacked more than once. Nienke Vinke was the most impressive of all: the 21-year-old talent was extremely active and went clear with the eventual winner. On the Cauberg, however, she could no longer follow.

Van der Breggen then had to try to solve the situation for SD Worx-Protime, but in Berg en Terblijt she had to settle for ninth place. “We were in the moves the way we wanted, but today we came up against a very strong Blasi,” she said realistically to Sporza. “She really rode a super race here. As a team, we rode a good race, but the result is a little less than we hoped for.”

While many were surprised by the strength of the Spanish winner, the experienced Dutch rider had already seen some of it coming. Even so, she still thought the gap could be closed. “I already knew she was a good rider. In our group there were still five Lidl-Trek riders, and Demi Vollering also had two teammates there to support her. Normally that is a good situation, but the advantage just would not come down. She simply rode an enormously good race.”

Defending champion Bredewold also could not quite make the difference. She finished fourteenth, one minute behind Blasi. So how did she feel after starting the race with number one on her back? “A bit neutral. I am fairly content in itself, although we had hoped for a little more. But then you need to have slightly better legs. I think one rider was simply a level above the rest,” she said clearly.

We often saw the former European champion near the front, but she did not have the power to create the decisive split herself. “I felt good, but not super. Normally I get better during the race, but now it stayed more or less the same. I did not have that super feeling you need to make the difference today.”

Dutch champion Wiebes would have loved to win her home race, but she was dropped with around 40 kilometers to go. She abandoned the race, yet her role was not over: she immediately helped out by handing out bidons to her teammates. A champion on the bike, but also beside it.