Amstel Gold Race Men LIVE: Peloton begin to close in on breakaway inside 100km to go

2026-04-19T12:53:05.174Z

Abandon:

Artem Shmidt (Ineos Grenadiers)

2026-04-19T12:49:57.690Z

The injection of pace in the peloton by the new teams joining the front has seen the break’s advantage completely disintegrate with just 1’50” splitting them now.

2026-04-19T12:43:59.542Z

Climbs 15, 16, 17, and 18 all come thick and fast now. The Plettenberg, Eyserweg, Schanternelsweg, and Vrakelberg before a brief hiatus from climbing then another cluster beginning with the Sibbergrubbe that will take us to the first passage of the Cauberg and the finish line.

2026-04-19T12:39:28.773Z

Climb 14 now, the Gulperberg. Under a kilometre long but kicks over 12% in gradient.

2026-04-19T12:38:35.406Z

The most likely rider that Decathlon-CMA CGM are riding for today is Paul Lapeira. The former French champion hasn’t raced since Milan-San Remo, where he took 17th place. What can he produce today?

2026-04-19T12:37:18.172Z

As the rain joins the party for the men’s race, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe’s tactic has worked and they are joined by Visma-Lease a Bike and, interestingly, Decathlon-CMA CGM on the front to set the tempo.

2026-04-19T12:32:58.749Z

Now onto climb number 13, the Eperheide. Around 4% in gradient and just over 2km long.

2026-04-19T12:27:05.326Z

A reminder of the break:

Huub Artrz (LOI)
Warren Barguil (TPP)
Joseba López (CJR)
Siebe Deweirdt (TFB)
Filip Maciejuk (MOV)
Marco Frigo (NSN)
Xabier Mikel Azparren (PQT)
Valentin Retailleau (TEN)
Abram Stockman (URR)

2026-04-19T12:25:47.471Z

Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe may be trying to get other teams to bite the bullet and work with them on the front of the bunch as it has all been up to the German team thus far.

2026-04-19T12:24:58.291Z

Three hours in and the average speed dips under 43kph. The peloton losing grip on the break, perhaps deliberately, as the gap grows again to 4’40”. The largest the gap has been all day.

2026-04-19T12:24:03.394Z

Amstel Gold Race is always a great way to kick of the trio of Ardennes Classics with La Flèche Wallonne and Liège–Bastogne–Liège following. It feels like the difficulty level grows as they go on. And, with the Ronde van Limburg and Brabantse Pijl now bridging the gap between the cobbles and hills, the Classics feel like a big group rather than two separate classifications of Classics. This is helped, of course, by the likes of Pogačar and Evenepoel doing both.

2026-04-19T12:21:20.823Z

The race is roughly at the half way marker today.

2026-04-19T12:15:47.798Z

It is sunny for the men at the moment but, as the women finish in Valkenburg, the rain falls. Classic April weather.

2026-04-19T12:02:23.057Z

Still not very much going on in this race, and still over 130km to go.

2026-04-19T11:38:40.321Z

The riders are really heading into the thick of it now with hardly any moment of rest bite from here to the finish. The race is up and down on narrow and twisty countryside roads and traffic island filled towns.

2026-04-19T11:35:50.556Z

Now on climb number eight of 33, the Schweibergerweg.

2026-04-19T11:23:34.316Z

The riders are on the seventh climb of the day, the Loorberg.

2026-04-19T11:18:37.640Z

After two hours of racing the average speed is 43kph.

2026-04-19T11:09:04.331Z

Evenepoel is being guided by his team on the front of the peloton with Jorgenson’s Visma-Lease a Bike and Skjelmose’s Lidl-Trek close behind.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

2026-04-19T10:20:21.347Z

López and Barguil in the break today ride for the only teams in this race that are without a win this season. Caja Rural-Seguros RGA have come very close with Fernando Gaviria, but Picnic-PostNL have struggled with only a couple of podiums with the likes of sprinter Pavel Bittner.

2026-04-19T10:18:40.414Z

After an hour of racing the average speed is at 47kph.

2026-04-19T09:44:47.564Z

The gap for the break goes to 2’10” over the peloton.

2026-04-19T09:43:39.075Z

The first climb of the day is out of the way…

(Image credit: Getty Images)

2026-04-19T09:36:21.791Z

20 minutes in and the average pace has shot up to over 48kph with the break trying to get a good gap on the bunch.

2026-04-19T09:35:01.405Z

Break:

Huub Artrz (LOI)
Warren Barguil (TPP)
Joseba López (CJR)
Siebe Deweirdt (TFB)
Filip Maciejuk (MOV)
Marco Frigo (NSN)
Xabier Mikel Azparren (PQT)
Valentin Retailleau (TEN)
Abram Stockman (URR)

They have a gap of 1’20” on the peloton.

2026-04-19T09:32:30.921Z

Nine riders go clear and swiftly get a gap of 30″ on the peloton. I’ll confirm who they as soon as I can.

2026-04-19T09:27:11.751Z

Multiple attacks are being launched in the peloton.

2026-04-19T09:26:47.943Z

The first climb of the day is the Maasberg, which comes after 10km of racing and is just 300 metres long. Maybe a launchpad for the break to finally go?

2026-04-19T09:25:14.276Z

The first 10 minutes of racing sees the riders average 42kph.

2026-04-19T09:22:33.912Z

No attacks are getting any gap as of yet.

2026-04-19T09:01:39.228Z

Several big name riders who were originally down to ride but aren’t due to a variety of issues have meant that the startlist isn’t quite as stacked as originally expected. Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek) are both ill, Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5) is coming back from injury and has opted for the Tour of the Alps as prep for Liege-Bastogne-Liege, and Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) has a broken sacrum after crashing at Itzulia Basque Country.

2026-04-19T08:25:25.744Z

Unfortunately, one rider who has been in great form before getting ill at Itzulia Basque Country, was Ben Tulett (Visma-Lease a Bike). He doesn’t take to the start today as he is still struggling with fitness after illness. Samuele Battistella (EF Education-EasyPost) will also not start due to illness.