Maciej Paterski has again proved to be in the shape of his life by claiming a top 10 place in the UCI World Tour event Amstel Gold Race. The race belonged to another great Polish cyclist, world champion Michał Kwiatkowski. 

"I didn't feel very well at the beginning of the race but the good sensations came back in the right moment. On the final Cauberg my legs were strong enough to attack. I was hoping that I would be able to maintain my pace all the way to the top. When Gilbert accelerated and caught me, I fell back slightly, but I managed to stay in the second group. Then I was able to get back into the right rhythm one more time, bridge the gap to the leaders and sprint for the 9th place. That was the plan - to fight for the top 10, so I can be happy with that result. The entire team worked very hard for me and Davide [Rebellin] and gave me a lot of comfort," Maciej Paterski said afterwards.   

CCC Sprandi Polkowice kicked off the race from the first row but was not lucky enough to have a representative in the breakaway of the day. The ones who managed to do so were Laurens De Vreese (Astana), Jan Polanc (Lampre-Merida), Timo Roosen (Team LottoNL-Jumbo), Linus Gerdemann (Cult Energy), Johann Van Zyl (MTN - Qhubeka) and Mike Terpstra (Team Roompot Oranje Peloton). They established an 11-minute advantage which was being gradually reduced by the bunch.

With 50km to go, the gap was only one minute. The escape broke apart and the peloton was gradually reeling in the escapees. Later on other attackers took their place in the front – among them there was Vincenzo Nibali. All of those moves were unsuccessful and it was all decided on the final Cauberg hill. Maciej Paterski and Davide Rebellin were both present in the main group.

One of the first one to attack was Paterski, although he was caught by Michael Matthews and Pihilippe Gilbert who counterattacked. The favorites merged after hitting the top, which was located 1,8km from the finish. It came down to a sprint from a small group, which was won by the Polish world champion Michal Kwiatkowski. Despite the strong push earlier, Paterski was able to claim 9th place.

Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) and Michael Matthews (Orica GreenEdge) took 2nd and 3rd respectively.