Lorena Wiebes Rues Celebration Slip-Up: ‘I Will Lose Some Sleep on that One’

Lorena Wiebes went cheers to tears in a matter of minutes Sunday after euphoria turned to heartbreak at Amstel Gold Race.

The Dutch sprinter star raised her arms in celebration too soon, and crafty veteran Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike) ruined the party with a well-timed bike throw to win the Dutch classic.

Emotions came pouring out with the enormity of the disappointment at the line SD Worx-Protime speedster, and teammates and friends consoled her at the line.

“That was just very stupid,” Wiebes said with a laugh to Sporza. “I never saw Marianne coming and I was very focused on [Elisa-Longo Borghini]. When I found a gap, I thought things were going well. But I was focused too hard on my right side and didn’t see the left anymore.”

It’s not the first time Vos won a race with a perfectly executed bike throw.

Wiebes on miscue: ‘That was just very stupid’

SD Worx-Protime rode a near-perfect race, with Demi Vollering marking the late attacks up the Cauberg to set up Wiebes.

Everyone knows the Dutch ace is hard to beat in a bunch sprint, and Wiebes realized her mistake too late to change the outcome when she raised her hands a few meters before the crossing the line.

That was just enough for Vos to stab her front wheel across the line in a photo-finish, one that Wiebes said will hurt for a few days.

“I may not sleep well for two or three nights and then it’s on to next year,” Wiebes said.

Though bitterly disappointed that the Dutch star couldn’t win the big Dutch race on home roads, Wiebes quickly put things into perspective.

She cited a mid-race incident involving a police motorcycle that saw the race temporarily neutralized and eventually shortened.

“Because of the accident in the race I can also put this into perspective,” she said. “My cheering too soon wasn’t the worst. There are more important things than the race.”

#AGRwomen #AGR24 pic.twitter.com/4lrzzYgBzS

— Cyclocross24.com (@cyclocross24) April 14, 2024