Enrico Gasparotto (Astana) sprinted to victory to win the Amstel Gold Race, the first of three Ardennes Classics. Read our race report here – or scroll through the photo gallery below to see how the race unfolded…
The peloton enjoys a rare section of flat road on the 256.5km course, which is peppered with 31 climbs.
Cadel Evans (BMC Racing) abandoned the race with 75km to go. The Tour de France champion has been battling with a cold but hopes to recovery in time for Fleche Wallone on Wednesday, which he won two years ago.
Three-time world champion Oscar Freire (Katusha) attack with less than seven kilometres to go until the finish.
Eventual winner Gasparotto tests his legs at the front of the bunch.
Freire begins the final climb, the Cauberg, a 1,200m ascent with a maximum gradient of 13 per cent.
Belgian national champion Philippe Gilbert (BMC Racing), who won the race in 2010 and 2011, leads the peloton up the Cauberg in pursuit of Freire.
Freire is reeled in just 50m from the line, leaving Gasparotto, Jelle Vanendert (Lotto-Belisol) and Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale) to contest a three-way sprint.
And it’s Giro d’Italia stage winner Gasparotto who emerges victorious, with Vanendert second and Sagan third.
