"Steals it on the line!": Lorena Wiebes left red-faced as early celebration lets Marianne Vos snatch Amstel Gold Race win

Lorena Wiebes today became the latest professional cyclist to learn the harsh lesson that you should never celebrate your victory too early, the Dutch sprinter raising her arms prematurely and opening the door to compatriot Marianne Vos' bike-throw victory at Amstel Gold Race.

Many will have sympathy for the SD Worx rider, who was seen disconsolate after the finish. Having opened her sprint and seemingly fairly comfortably the fastest rider, Wiebes lifted her hands from the bars in celebration and freewheeled across the line. Unfortunately for her, Vos had snuck up the inside by the barriers and capitalised on the premature salute, throwing her bike across the line centimetres ahead of Wiebes to secure a second victory at the Dutch one-day race.

Marianne Vos WINS Amstel Gold Women right on the line! 🏁🤯

The Visma-Lease a Bike rider steals victory from Lorena Wiebes with a 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒍𝒚-𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒅 throw!#AGR2024 pic.twitter.com/XrusDsIBcT

— Eurosport (@eurosport) April 14, 2024

Proceedings had already been shortened, a collision away from the riders reportedly involving a police officer and another vehicle being driven on the route, causing the peloton to be directed straight to the finishing circuit following a lengthy delay.

A breakaway was reeled in as the finish neared, setting up the reduced sprint, Wiebes' mistake and Vos' last-gasp victory.

Speaking to the Dutch broadcaster NOS' TV cameras afterwards, Wiebes said she could "kick myself".

"I could definitely kick myself," she said. "Elisa Longo Borghini started the sprint on the middle line. I was sitting to the left of her wheel and she practically throws me into the fences. I still managed to squeeze through. I just looked too much to the right and didn't see Marianne (Vos) coming.

> Oops! Teammates celebrate 'victory' arm in arm… only to be pipped by rival right at the finish

"I suddenly saw Marianne at the finish and suddenly thought: 'Oh no, maybe not...' It's just very stupid. It happens to every cyclist at some point. It's a good learning point. Normally I always sprint on. I hope not to do it again next time."

While delighted with her victory, Vos said it would be "very disappointing for Lorena" and admitted almost suffering a similar fate during her 2021 Amstel success when "I started cheering, but the rest came very quickly".

"Apparently that is something that can happen quickly here," she said. "To be honest, I was just busy with my sprint. I really thought, 'To the finish, to the finish, to the finish'. I saw that she started cheering, but it was not yet clear whether I would go over it. So I had to wait first.

"I felt I had a little more speed, but I wasn't sure if it was enough. The fact that I am now winning here is very nice. But I also have mixed feelings here. Actually a triple feeling, with the accident on the road, the restart and of course I can also relate to Lorena. It also needs to sink in for a while. We are at the start with the idea of ​​racing at full speed. Then all kinds of things happen and then you stand here as the winner."

Many a pro cyclist has fallen foul of the early celebration, perhaps most famously Erik Zabel at Milan-San Remo in 2004, but special shout-out to Julian Alaphilippe at Liège–Bastogne–Liège in 2020, the then world champion watching Primož Roglič surge past on the line.

British sprinter Dan McLay has also benefited from premature partying, in 2017 snatching victory at Tour de l'Eurométropole in Belgium after Cofidis rider Anthony Turgis misjudged the finish. That year was a rich vintage for the genre, Bahrain-Merida's Luka Pibernik launching his victory salute a whole lap early on stage five of the Giro d'Italia.

More recently, Tobias Johannessen was left in disbelief at this year's Classic Var as Lenny Martinez stole victory with a late surge as the Norwegian rider was contemplating how to celebrate his win.