Australian cyclist Nathan Haas finished fourth in the Amstel Gold Race that finished in Berg en Terblijt in the Netherlands on Sunday.
The Dimension Data rider said that they had had a lot of bad luck in the past few months and the Classics had not been what the team deserved after all their hard work.
“We went in to this race with only one goal in mind; to race it with balls. Win or lose,” said Haas.
The first rider from the team to play his hand was Johann Van Zyl who bridged across to an early breakaway to make sure they were represented at the front.
Team Dimension Data’s Nathan Haas finished fourth in the Amstel Gold Race on Sunday. Photo: Stiehl Photography
The 12-man group quickly gained a good gap on the peloton but as they took on the last 100km, the gap started to come down.
Van Zyl tried to prolong the break with another attack but with 40km left to go, it all came back together.
“Johann did a great job in the break, representing, and even when it came back, he still went to the front to pull,” said Haas.
The Dimension Data riders always kept team leader Haas near the front of the pack and when pre-race favorite, Philippe Gilbert (Quick-Step Floors) attacked, Haas was quick to follow thanks to the good positioning done by his teammates.
A select group of eight now formed at the front and even though multiple strong riders tried to join, nobody succeeded and the break went away.
The front group worked well together, but on the final kilometers it started to split up.
Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky) put in a furious attack, which only Gilbert managed to follow.
Haas tried to bridge across later on, but the chase group did not let him get away.
In the final sprint, Gilbert got the better of Kwiatkowski, while Haas finished just outside the podium.
“I haven’t won too many races from a small select group, it’s usually after a reduced group sprint, so this performance really felt like some kind of psychological breakthrough for me. I’m really proud of myself,” said Haas.
Kristian Sbaragli also showed great legs as he sprinted to 16th place, giving the team two riders in the top 20 in the Dutch World Tour one-day race.
