Benoit Cosnefroy finished third at the Amstel Gold Race on Sunday to give UAE Team Emirates-XRG a podium in one of the biggest races of the Ardennes week.
The French rider came home in Valkenburg after a hard day over 257km from Maastricht, with 33 climbs spread across the Limburg hills.
The race was split open in the final 70km as the favourites took control on climbs including the Loorberg, Gulperberg and Kruisberg. Remco Evenepoel and Mattias Skjelmose broke clear and settled the win between themselves at the finish.
Evenepoel took victory, with Skjelmose second, while Cosnefroy judged his effort well behind them to win the sprint for third from the reduced chase group.
He finished 1 minute 59 seconds behind the winner, capping another strong ride after also reaching the podium earlier in the week.
Cosnefroy said the race had been hard from the start, with attacks throughout and a high pace on the climbs.
“It was a really hard race from the start, with a lot of attacks and a very high pace on the climbs,” he said.
“I’m happy with the podium result and to be here competing for the win. It’s a race that suits me well on paper and one I’ll hopefully keep coming back to in the future.”
“I’ll have a rest up tomorrow and we’ll go again for another big day out on the Mur de Huy on Wednesday.”
The Ardennes campaign continues on Wednesday with Fleche Wallonne, where UAE Team Emirates-XRG will look to build on another encouraging result.
Top three
- Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull Bora hansgrohe) – 5:59:40
- Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) – +1s
- Benoit Cosnefroy (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) – +1:59
