After a solid cobbled classics campaign, Team Sky got their Ardennes classics off to a bad start at today's Amstel Gold Race. After Geraint Thomas had crashed out of the race, it was left to Edvald Boasson Hagen to defend the team's colours but the Norwegian could only manage 39th.

Team Sky got their Ardennes Classics campaign off to a quiet start with Edvald Boasson Hagen finishing 36 seconds down after Philippe Gilbert had romped to a fine solo win.
 

Boasson Hagen was the only Team Sky rider left in a reduced peloton as the action neared its conclusion but he couldn’t react when Gilbert made his race-winning move on the final ascent of the Cauberg. Samuel Sanchez (BMC Racing) had kicked things off on the iconic climb, but when he wilted Gilbert was perfectly positioned to fire off the front and leave his rivals in the dust.

The BMC Racing rider passed Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEdge) and Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) as he powered over the summit in the big ring, and in a repeat of his World Championships success on the same roads in 2012, Gilbert pressed home his advantage on the 1.8km section which followed to take his victory by two seconds.

Jelle Vanendert (Lotto Belisol) made it a Belgian 1-2 in Holland, while Gerrans rounded out the podium in third. Boasson Hagen meanwhile, was Team Sky’s highest-placed finisher in 39th position.

Team Sky had come into the race with spirits high, but lost Geraint Thomas in one of the many crashes that punctuated the early exchanges. The Welshman had been able to get back on his bike but withdrew soon after as the peloton had disappeared up the road. Josh Edmondson also suffered a similar fate due to a mechanical problem, while Danny Pate pulled out as he had dropped back to assist his two stricken team-mates.

Ian Boswell, Christian Knees and Ben Swift also abandoned before the race reached its conclusion, leaving Boasson Hagen and Nathan Earle as Team Sky’s only finishers.

Back at the hotel, Sports Director Nicolas Portal was keen to stress the positives, although he did admit things hadn't gone to plan on the road.

"It was a tough day and a big shame in terms of the result but they'll all live to fight another day. G crashed and then Swifty suffered a flat tyre which meant the others had to drop back twice and try and pace them back on.

"Although they managed it both times, those efforts meant they couldn't hang on when the speed went up over the climbs in the last few hours.

"They all gave it 100% and you can't ask for any more than that. Christian [Knees], Danny [Pate], Ian [Boswell] and Josh [Edmondson] were really good today and Nathan [Earle] did a lot of work as well. We couldn't give Edvald as much support as we'd wanted in those last 20km though, and that showed when those last attacks went on the Cauberg.

"G, Eddy and Christian were all coming off a long Cobbled Classics block, and I think they were tired today, both mentally and physically. We have Pete [Kennaugh], Mikel [Nieve] and David [Lopez] coming in to replace them for Fleche Wallonne so I think we will be much fresher for that, and if we avoid any more bad luck, we should be in good shape."