VALKENBURG, Netherlands (AFP) - Denmark's Michael Valgren of Astana won the Amstel Gold Race, beating Roman Kreuziger in a cat-and-mouse finale after a rolling 263km race from Maastricht.
Italy's Enrico Gasparotto was third by a few seconds while pre-race favourites Peter Sagan and Alejandro Valverde came fourth and fifth after being dropped by a lightning break around 1km from the finish.
"The team was counting on me," said Valgren, who underlined his classics form with a fourth-place finish at the recent Tour of Flanders.
"In the escape I had the help of Jakob Fuglsang who was so strong and after all his efforts I had to win."
A minute's silence was observed at the start in memory of Belgian Michael Goolaerts, who died after suffering heart failure during the Paris-Roubaix last Sunday.
The only one of the 'Ardennes Classics' to be run on Dutch soil featured 34 small climbs over constantly rolling terrain on narrow country roads.
As expected, an early breakaway formed and the nine frontrunners went on to build a lead of over 15 minutes.
********Denmark's Michael Valgren of Astana won the Amstel Gold Race on Sunday