Tom Pidcock overcomes brutal blisters to win Amstel Gold Race, jokes "for a second time" after previous photo finish drama

Tom Pidcock's Paris-Roubaix war wounds, namely some eye-watering blisters on his hands, were shown off in his post-race interview moments after winning Amstel Gold Race, the British rider joking "for a second time" having previously been on the losing end of photo finish drama at the 2021 edition.

The victory was a display of class from the Ineos Grenadiers puncheur, pre-race favourite Mathieu van der Poel fading after a relentless cobbled classics campaign as a strong group escaped up the road. Coming to the finish together, Pidcock got the better of Marc Hirschi, Tiesj Benoot and Mauri Vansevenant to add the Dutch one-day race to his ever-improving palmares.

TOM PIDCOCK CLAIMS VICTORY AT AMSTEL GOLD! 🏆

The INEOS Grenadiers rider conquers the sprint to take the win at the Spring Classic! 👏👏👏@tompidcock | #AGR2024 pic.twitter.com/kVZxD4kdQY

— Eurosport (@eurosport) April 14, 2024

There was no repeat of the photo finish controversy of 2021, when Wout van Aert was given the tightest of tight finish-line decisions in an incident which prompted the race organisers to update their technology, nor a repeat of the women's race earlier in the afternoon, when Lorena Wiebes was left red-faced having celebrated prematurely and allowed compatriot Marianne Vos to nab victory on the line.

> No more photo finish controversies (hopefully) at Amstel Gold, as race organisers upgrade equipment

Afterwards, Pidcock joked to the TV cameras, "I was gonna say it's great to win for a second time but that might create controversy" before showing off his hands a week on from losing a fair chunk of skin on the cobbles.

Ahead of the race, the Yorkshireman had concluded that his hands might not be as tough as they once were and questioned whether his last-minute decision to race Paris-Roubaix was the smartest call.

"My hands are still sore," he said. "I guess that's a lesson that you can't just drop into Paris-Roubaix, that you even need to prepare your hands. Normally I have no problems with these things, but I didn't ride my mountain bike or do any of the other cobbled classics so my hands are a bit softer nowadays.

"Amstel is a great race and I love racing there, so I hope to go one better this time. As for the Ardennes, these were a big goal of mine from the start of the year so I'm really looking forward to getting stuck in, together with the team. It's always a really nice time of the year."

Once again, just like last year, a half pint of Amstel lager was thrust into Pidcock's hands (potentially quite a welcome relief for the stinging), the 24-year-old who does not drink looking less than impressed with the race sponsor's prize tipple...

pic.twitter.com/F6sCyHuEuA

— Cycling out of context (@OutOfCycling) April 14, 2024