From the start, there was a breakaway of six riders. The sextet got a five-minute lead. Team Jumbo-Visma decided to attack at less than a hundred kilometres from the finish. Nathan Van Hooydonck tried to bridge the gap and got Victor Campenaerts with him. Soon both attackers joined the leading group. Behind them, the pace in the peloton increased.

After Van Hooydonck’s attempt to escape had failed, Benoot had the initiative on the Keutenberg. With a strong acceleration, he managed to create a group of favourites.

In the last twenty kilometres, Kwiatkowski and Cosnefroy escaped from this group. The two attackers quickly created a gap and were not caught again. With a strong attack in the last kilometre, Benoot got away from the chasing group and took third place in the Amstel Gold Race.

Benoot thought it was a good race. "Nathan opened up the race, which was a good situation for us. It's a shame Christophe crashed. The guys dropped me perfectly on the Kruisberg. I think I forced the breakaway on the Keutenberg. I felt perfect until that moment. After that, it wasn't easy with the guys from INEOS because they were with two. In the descent to the Geulhemmerberg, I missed a turn and brought Cosnefroy back. When we were in front, he attacked and I had a hard time. Third place was the maximum. I tried twice and the second time I managed."

Van Hooydonck also won a prize. The Belgian's urge to attack was rewarded with the Herman Krott trophy for the most combative rider. "It was fun. When the race like usually would explode on the Kruisberg, I could have been of more value to Tiesj. INEOS kept the pace high. That was a pity. Next week Paris-Roubaix is my last big goal for this spring. It is nice to go there with a good feeling. It's also cool to take home the fighting spirit prize and be on the podium."

Tom Dumoulin rode through terrain that was familiar to him. "It was super special. I had been looking forward to this for six years. Last year I was there as a guest and saw how the race was experienced from the outside. The team rode well today, with Tiesj on the podium. We missed Wout, but Tiesj has shown the Team Jumbo-Visma colours well. It was a good race, but not yet on the level to colour the final. Maybe that wasn't to be expected. I am satisfied. It was good, but if you want to compete for the top spots here, you have to be in top shape. Hopefully I will make another step in the coming weeks. Tomorrow I will leave for altitude training and then the Giro will be next. I am looking forward to it."