Michal Kwiatkowski: "I proved to myself that I have to be patient, because sooner or later victory will come"

Today's Amstel Gold Race saw a relative surprise winner today as Michal Kwiatkowski came back in style once again to win the race for the second time in his career. The Polish star hadn't won since the 2020 Tour de France and when he gets the freedom to go for his results he often leaves a mark.

After INEOS blew up the peloton in the decisive sectors in the race inside the final 40 kilometers, Kwiatkowski and Pidcock found themselves in the leading group of 11 riders. Kwiatkowski attacked shortly after the Cauberg and into flatter roads, and was joined by Benoît Cosnefroy with who he worked together to build the winning gap. Kwiatkowski said: “It was therefore not up to me to make the difference [to the chasing group] bigger... It was really tough, it was a tough race, and a really tough final. I knew I could win, but especially the last 50 meters were very difficult. Cosnefroy kept accelerating, even when I came alongside in the sprint. But I only came here to win.”

After the sprint the race winner was unclear. Cosnefroy was initially told he had won, but some minutes later the photo finish revealed the outcome of the sprint favoured the INEOS rider: “It was very unclear. I was very disappointed at first, because for me it was all about winning, I learned from last year's situation with Tom, you really have to wait to cheer. That's why I still can't believe it. Maybe they will come back later that I didn't win after all,"

“It's nice to win here, because I love this race. I've had a lot of bad moments this year, with corona, flu and illness. I was unable to follow my planned program for a long time… And now I have won the Amstel Gold Race. I proved to myself that I have to be patient, because sooner or later victory will come. The start of the season was very tough, because my family got sick and I couldn't train because of that. It was a difficult period to come back, but now I am here," he concluded.

His spring has had the targeted success, but Kwiatkowski will now race the remaining Ardennes classics where he will have more opportunities to succeed.