20th April – Amstel Gold Race Ladies Edition: Maastricht – Berg en Terblijt
The Amstel Gold Race, the biggest one-day race in the Netherlands, took place today over the challenging hilly terrain of Limburg. Known for its iconic climbs and tough conditions, this race always delivers drama and excitement. After just over 100 kilometers of racing, the action heated up with a strong move off the front. A large breakaway group of 23 riders formed, including Megan Jastrab and Mara Roldan representing Team Picnic PostNL. The group quickly established a lead of nearly two minutes, setting the stage for a thrilling finale.
Back in the peloton, Marta Cavalli and Pfeiffer Georgi stayed well-positioned throughout the day, but as the race progressed, it became increasingly clear that the breakaway would contest the victory. The decisive moments came on the final ascents of the Geulhemmerberg, Bemelerberg and Cauberg. A group containing eventual winner Mischa Bredewold broke away, splitting the front group and forcing Roldan and Jastrab into a chasing group. Despite their efforts, the gap to the front continued to grow. In the final sprint, Mara Roldan gave it everything she had, digging deep to secure a 10th place finish from the chasing group. A strong performance on her home roads near the Keep Challening Centre.
After the race, Mara said: “This is kind of our home race for Team Picnic PostNL. These are the roads we train on every day, and we really wanted to be part of the race, and I think we really succeeded in that. We got a bit unlucky with some crashes early on, and when the race split, Megan and I managed to make it into the front group. We worked really well together to stay in the mix and prevent further splits, while the girls at the back managed to stay safe just in case things came back together, and we could switch back to our initial plan of having Marta and Pfeiffer, who have so much experience on this course, sprint for us. In the end, the breakaway stayed away and it split a bit more, but I was definitely feeling a lot of pain towards the end. I didn’t make the front five that broke away on the last lap, but Megan was really strong in helping me into the bottom of the Cauberg, and from there, I just tried to push as much as I could. I’m kind of in disbelief about finishing in the top 10. Having my parents here today makes it even more special. They came all the way from Canada to visit me this week. I’m really happy with how things went for everyone today.”