The race started with 184 riders, Saunier duval's Riccardo Riccò and Rabobanks Sebastian Langeveld didn't start. Kristof
Vandewalle (Topsport Vlaanderen), Albert Timmer (Skil-Shimano) and Yuriy Krivtsov (AG2R La Mondiale) broke off after 35 kilometres.
Their lead grew rapidly, after 86 kilometres the three escapees had a lead of 12 minutes and 43 seconds.
After about 100 kilometres the bunch started to organise the chase. The lead of the breakaway dropped fast. With 54 kilometres
to go the escapees had a lead of 2 minutes and 10 seconds. With 42 kilometres Milram's Dutch young gun Niki Terpstra attacked
out of the bunch and bridged up to the three race leaders at the Wolfsberg. Terpstra rode full gas but the four men were caught
at the next hill, the Loorberg.
Terpstra said after the race: "It was my goal to be as far forward as possible. I tried to get away but wasn't fast enough.
I absolutely wanted to get over the next climb in order to pick up speed on the descent, but I had too much wind in my face.
When you go on your limit here in Limburg, you lose so much strength, that you can't quickly recover."
CSc tried to force an early decision with several attacks but Caisse d'Epargne, Rabobank and Gerolsteiner worked hard to
keep the bunch together. The race stayed open until the final 40 kilometres.
Rabobank's shooting start Robert Gesink opened the fight for victory with a furious attack, Kim kirchen (High Road), Igor
Astarloa (Milram), Mario Aerts (Silence - Lotto) and Het Volk winner Philippe Gilbert (Francaise des Jeux) followed Gesink.
CSC, Caisse d'Epargen and Gerolsteiner didn't allow the five riders to get away.
With 27 kilometres to go Carlo Scognamiglio (Barloworld) attacked. Gerolsteiner, Rabobank, Lampre and Cofidis organised
the chase and Scognamiglio was caught again. The winner of the mountain classification of the 2007 Tour de l'Avenir,
Dario Cataldo (Liquigas) attacked with 23 kilometres to go. Cataldo did not really get away either. The Italian young gun
was caught at the Kruisberg.
At the Eyserbosweg, with 18 kilometres to go Kim Kirchen attacked again, this time with with Silence-Lotto's Johan van
Summeren. Both riders were caught after the climb. In the mean time the bunch was reduced to a group of 30 riders.
Barloworld's Christian Pfannenberger and Astana's Sergey Ivanov were the next riders who broke off. Both riders were caught
at the Keutenberg. During that climb the bunch fall apart completely.
Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner), Fränk Schleck (CSC) and Lampre's Damiano Cunego were the first riders to bridge up to Pfannenberger
and Ivanov. A nine men group opened the final showdown. Apart from these five men, Joachim Rodriguez and Alejandro Valverde
(Caisse d'Epargne), Thomas Dekker (Rabobank) and CSC's Karsten Kroon were part of the leading group.
Rebbellin tried to attack several times out of the lead group but didn't get away. Behind the group Robert Gesink was pulling
a chase group for his teammate Oscar Freire but the group did not manage to bridge up to the nine race leaders.
In the chasing group were last years winner Stefan Schumacher, Fabian Wegmann (both Gerolsteiner), Rinaldo Nocentini (AG2R),
Jérôme Pineau (Bouygues), Simon Gerrans (Crédit Agricole), Benoît Vaugrenard (FDJ), Kjell Carlström (Liquigas), Johan
Vansummeren (Lotto) and Kim Kirchen (High Road) and Rabobank's Oscar Freire and Robert Gesink
The situation stayed the same as the chasing group did not come closer. On the final climb on the last kilometre, the legendary Cauberg
in Valkenburg Joaquin Rodriguez set the pace for Valverde, with Cunego at the front as well. Then Karsten
Kroon prepared an attack for Frank Schleck. Schleck attacked but Cunego jumped over him and Schleck had to let him go.
Valverde tried to jump as well but the Spanish rider could not follow Cunego as well. Cunego won the race, Schleck
came in second and Valverde grabbed the final spot for the podium. Rebellin came in fourth and 23 year old Thomas Dekker came
in fifth.
Race winner Damiano Cunego said: "This victory is for the whole team and for the outstanding performances by all my team
mates." Cunego added: "I think my race was very good: the final part was not so easy, I had to be ready to control
all attempts of the 8 riders that were with me. I was feeling very strong and when Schleck attacked, I understood that
it was the right moment, so I followed him and then I succeed in obtaining the victory. The main target of the week was Liege-Bastogne-Liege,
because it’s the race I know better; today this victory arrived almost as a surprise. I’m very happy, but now
I want go on in this way:"
Cunego also sadi he doesn't want to specialize on one-day races. "I can win one days races but I also can win grand tours.
This year my goals are the Ardennes classics and the Tour de France."
"Damiano and the team raced very well," Guido Bontempi, Lampre’s sports director said. "We supported the bunch chase
of the three attackers [Vandewalle, Timmer and Krivtsov, editor] with one man; then Cunego was helped in a perfect way by
his teammates and then he was fantastic in the final kilometres."
The winner of the 2005 edition of the race came in second. CSC's Frank Schleck said: "Of course I would have loved to win
Amstel Gold Race again, but I'm happy with second place with the way the race developed. It was a very exclusive group of
riders who were fighting for the victory, so it was a tense final. I tried four or five times before Cauberg, but they were
keeping an eye on me, so there was only one chance left. Kim Andersen and Bjarne Riis told me to try an all in attack on the
climb, and I'm sure I wouldn't have finished on the podium if I hadn't done that. Cunego was the fastest in the sprint, but
I was able to make a difference on the climb after all. I'll be looking forward to the races next week and the race today
pointed out for sure that both I and the team are very ready."
"I don't think we made any mistakes," said Thomas Dekker, who came in fifth. "The team rode a strong, alert and dominant
race." Rabobank'ssports director Erik Breukink supported his comments. "We are not walking around all-smiles; that is clear.
I, however, cannot blame the team. None of them. Neither can I blame Thomas. He made the best of it. The group with which
he rode to the finish consisted of world-class riders. Men who can dream arrivals such as these and who are very explosive.
Plus, Thomas had reached his absolute limits. This really was the highest feasible result."
Despite the minor feeling of disappointment, Thomas Dekker also expressed some satisfaction in regards to his and his team's
good race. "With this group of riders, this was just the maximum result on the Cauberg; one must be fair and honest about
that. Look at Karsten Kroon, a quick finisher, but he didn't have a chance either based on the strength of the competition."
Dekker was perfectly able to keep up with the pace on the foot of the Cauberg, but there he already did not consider himself
as one of the favorites for the victory. After all, with Cunego, Valverde and Rebellin there were some extremely fast men
with him that can also easily digest a climb.
Dekker: "Schleck accelerated on the steepest part. Unfortunately, I then came up just short. Cunego wins in great style
here. His first Amstel Gold Race and then ride like this. He was the strongest. At any rate, I am not really dissatisfied.
It went well. Liège-Bastogne-Liège? First we get the Flèche Wallone. But indeed Liège-Bastogne-Liège is more made for me compared
to the Amstel. First Wednesday and then see how we recover."
Thomas Dekker concluded: "All the compliments for the team. A shame that Oscar could not re-claim his position after the
Keuteberg? Yes, even though I question whether he could have played a role on the Cauberg. After all, there was a reason for
why he had fallen behind. The picture was clear to me after the Keuteberg. I had to finish it off for the team, but some men
just had more power and energy left."
