When the Amstel Gold Race was blown apart by a dangerous group on the first of three finishing laps, suddenly an opportunity presented itself to multiple riders who are used to either supporting others or fighting for the minor positions at the major Classics. Lots came close, and the race situation fluctuated countless times in the finale, but in the end it was SD-Worx Protime’s Mischa Bredewold who outsmarted and outrode them all to pounce upon the chance.
None of the most hyped riders going into the race managed to make the split. Defending champion Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike), usually so alert to race developments, did not make it; neither did Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek), therefore missing out on the chance to use the great form she showed in her Brabantse Pijl victory a couple of days ago; and Demi Vollering (Groupama-FDJ) was left frustrated as she was earlier in the spring at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, when failure to bring back an early break prevented her from winning.
Two other star names were missing, but perhaps more by design than the others — the SD Worx-Protime duo of Anna van der Breggen and Lotte Kopecky. It was clear early on that Van der Breggen was riding in a domestique role rather than for herself when she set about riding a disruptive pace at the front of the peloton during the early phase of the race, working to make the race hard for her teammates. Her job done, she even abandoned the race once the split had been made. As for Kopecky, she might have missed the move, but was happy to play a marking role due to the presence of the one star rider who did manage to make it up the road — her teammate Lorena Wiebes.
Of the 23 riders who formed the break, Wiebes was the star rider, and SD Worx-Protime the best-represented team. Everyone knows how unbeatable Wiebes is in a sprint, and her status has become all the more fearsome in a spring that has already seen her win Milan-Sanremo, Gent-Wevelgem, Le Samyn and Brugge-De Panne, as well as palace third at Paris-Roubaix. And as one of only about 20 riders to survive last year’s edition to sprint for second place (a race she failed to win only due to celebrating too early), it’s clear the hills of Amstel are within her capabilities.
On top of that, Wiebes had teammates Mischa Bredewold and Blanka Vas to help protect her and control the group, more than any other rider in the group, which no other team had more than two representatives in. This was a situation SD Worx-Protime were more than happy with, and (as hinted at by Bredewold in the post-race interview) something like what they’d hoped to engineer, with an emphasis on causing chaos and making a breakaway stick.
Yet as the race went on, it seemed their plan appeared to unravel. Initially Wiebes seemed to be climbing fine, as she latched onto a move instigated by Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck) and Juliette Labous (Groupama-FDJ), along with Ashleigh Moolman (AG Insurance - Soudal), Eline Jansen (VolkerWessels) and Wiebes’ teammate Blanka Vas. But she couldn’t handle the pace when more moves went with 18km to go at the start of the final lap and on the Geulhemmerberg climb, and she was dropped. Instead, Pieterse, Labous and Persico went clear, and suddenly a dangerous lead group had formed without a single SD Worx ride in it.
Enter Mischa Bredewold. The young Dutch rider came to the team’s rescue when she and Ellen van Dijk (Lidl-Trek) combined together after the climb, and dragged themselves back to Pieterse, Labous and Persico. Then despite not being able to make the initial selection, Bredewold nevertheless had the legs to launch her own attack on the all-important final ascent of the Cauberg, get a gap, and then maintain it all the way to the finish despite the best efforts of those chasing her. The odds might have seemed against them just a few kilometres earlier, but once again SD Worx-Protime had their win.
While that’s a familiar result for the team, it isn’t so much for Bredewold herself. This is only the third time she has won a Classic at WorldTour level, in addition to her two successive titles at Classic Lorient Agglomération. Given the multitude of leaders on the books at SD Worx-Protime, she’s very used to riding in a support role since moving to the squad for the 2023 season, sacrificing her own chances for the team. Today was a rare chance to strike out for personal glory, and she seized it with both hands — and perhaps earned herself more leadership opportunities in the future.
The peloton climbing the Maasberg (Image: Jules van Iperen / Getty Images)
For other riders who made the split, this must go down as a missed opportunity. Since the arrival of Vollering at FDJ–Suez, Juliette Labous is another rider who, like Bredewold, has found herself more commonly on domestique duty. When she escaped clear with Pieterse, she must have felt this was a golden chance to claim a first win since the French National Championships last June, only to have to settle for fourth after missing out in the sprint for the podium places.
Ellen van Dijk (Lidl-Trek) was the break’s chief animator, making multiple attacks, including one that saw her and Bredewold go clear 5.7km from the finish to give them a hard of nine seconds onto the final climb of the Cauberg. She struggled on her less favoured terrain of the steep Cauberg slopes, however, and was dropped by Bredwold, having to settle instead for second-place.
Perhaps more frustrated of all will be Puck Pieterse. Yet again this spring she has been consistently extremely strong, being involved in the final of almost all the major Classics, her third-place finish today the tenth Classic in a row this spring that she has made the top ten; yet again, however, she is without a win in any of them. Her familiar issue of doing too much work again appeared to be a problem, as she put it upon herself to chase down the attacks, only to be dropped when it mattered. Perhaps if she’d kept her powder dry, she’d have had enough left to take the win.
While these riders might toss and turn about what they could have done differently, Mischa Bredewold can rest happy at having executed her race perfectly, seizing the opportunity to claim the biggest win of her career so far.
