A moment of ecstasy, arms rising and immense pride. Then an icy shower, relentless, hard to swallow. Benoît Cosnefroy thought for a minute that he was experiencing the greatest thrill of his career. The AG2R Citroën rider was announced winner of the Amstel Gold Race on Sunday after an intense final sprint with Michal Kwiatkowski. But hardly the joy came, the photo finish came to judge the first announcement of the commissioners, and the Pole of Ineos Grenadiers inherited the final victory. A painful outcome, unfair and unworthy of a race of this standing.
Second in a great Classic for the second time in his career after his explosion during the Flèche Wallonne in 2020, Cosnefroy played it as a handsome loser, keeping his smile on the podium. “It is beautiful this podium, I am happyhe assured in a first reaction transmitted by his team. Although I would have preferred to win against Kwiatkowski in the sprint, he was faster than me. It happened little by little.“
It’s weird with the means the commissioners have, that they’re wrong, and that it’s so blatant
Benoit Cosnefroyto Belgian media Sporza
Left to catch up with the wheel of the former world champion 19.5 kilometers from the finish to form a tandem that will not be seen again, the Norman has not much to blame himself for. Faced with one of the biggest punchers in the peloton, Cosnefroy only gave in on a last effort at the end of a sprint that had been well run until then. “I almost had the perfect race, he confirmed at the microphone of the Belgian media Sporza. I put myself in a position to win, it’s never easy in a final like this. I felt strong. Kwiatkowski played better than me, but I didn’t make many mistakes.”
Fair play and philosopher, Benoît Cosnefroy. But also a little circumspect by this ubiquitous situation, “an emotional lift” in his words to Eurosport-GCN, once the finish line has been crossed. “When I am announced winner, I am announced winner. For me, that meant that the photo finish had been watched, he advances, incredulous at Sporza. In the end, I am shown the photo… and there is no photo for once. It’s not like last year with Wout van Aert and Tom Pidcock (Editor’s note: van Aert had won by a few millimeters, again in the photo). There, there was at least a gut gap. I don’t understand why they took a decision so quickly to say that I had won, when it is very clear that I did not win at the photo finish. It’s odd with the resources that commissioners have, that they’re wrong, and that it’s so flagrant.“
This confusion tarnishes an Amstel Gold Race once again spectacular, and smoothly led by AG2R Citroën. Often placed in one-day races but never at the top, the French formation this time had every reason to believe in it. A little more when the official communication of the Classic announced Benoît Cosnefroy big winner. “There is a lot, a lot of frustration right now, insists Julien Jurdie, sports director of the team, at Eurosport-GCN. Radio Tour first announces Benoît as the winner. We saw on TV that it was tense. I was hoping that Radio Tour would announce the result having seen the photo finish. The joy was immense, the disappointment is just as much.“
“There are times when information from Radio Tour is complicated to understand, Jurdie continues. Even the mileage between the TV broadcast against our software was wrong. It was a bit of the icing on the cake with the name of Benoît winner.“
And this one won? https://t.co/PNi01wAwFg
— Cosnefroy Benoit (@BenoitCosnefroy) April 10, 2022
The tension is legitimate. But the main interested parties prefer to highlight all the positive things to remember from this Sunday. Benoît Cosnefroy was part of the group of cadors and managed to escape from it on the pedal. An excellent sign for the next events: the Flèche Wallonne on April 20 and Liège-Bastogne-Liège on April 24. “Today I lost, but I had a lot of fun with the race scenario, with my physical form.assured the 26-year-old runner at a press conference. If I start crying on a podium at the Amstel, I might as well stop the bike. I feel that the form is good, very good even. I’m going to try to go for a victory, after that it will probably be less easy to maneuver in the next races, I will probably be watched more.“
