Tony Martin found himself on the attack in the Amstel Gold Race finale but the German refused to cooperation with his companions that included Vincenzo Nibali. Hence, the break was caught and instead the favourites decided the race, with Martin's teammate Michal Kwiatkowski sprinting to the win.

Finally we have our Classics victory," Martin wrote on his personal website. "Kwiatkowski crowned our strong team performance today at the Amstel Gold Race. My legs hadn’t completely recovered from the very challenging Tour of the Basque County. But then I didn’t really take it very easy there either.

"My role today was to be at Kwiatkowski’s side and to parry dangerous attacks in the finale. About 40 km before the finish, the race really started and strong riders like Nibali sought their chance. I could go with the attack, and a lead group was established, which had a lead of between 30 and 50 seconds.

"Tactically it was the best situation for us, since the rest of the team back in the field could "rest", without using up their power in the wind. Because of my, shall we say "modest" legs, I didn’t go all out in the front and just concentrated on parrying Nibali’s attacks on the climbs. So the group didn’t really gel and 15 kilometers before the finish we were caught again.

"I still had enough left, though, to bring Michal into position. Then I pulled back about 5 kilometers before the finish and I rode next to the team car to see Michal’s win on the tv there. The joy was pretty big, as you can imagine.

"On Wednesday I will jump in for Fleche Wallonne at the last minute, because we have a number of injury-related withdrawals. And then perhaps my legs will again be 100 percent fit."

After Fleche Wallonne, Martin will end his spring season at the Tour de Romandie where he has won stages in the past.