Amstel Gold Race (men's race)

The first race The Amstel Gold Race was created by Dutch sports promoters Ton Vissers and Herman Krott, who ran a company called Inter Sport. Their dream was to create a Dutch classic cycle race able to compete with the monument races of Flanders and Italy. The first edition was announced to take place on 30 April 1966, the Netherlands' National Holiday. The plan was to start in Amsterdam, before branching out to the east of the country and finishing in Maastricht, in the southeast of the country, totalling 280 km. However, many problems emerged. was a regular podium finisher. Move to Maastricht In 1991 the finish of the Amstel Gold Race moved to Maastricht, Limburg's capital city, and in 1998 the start also moved there. The character of the race was more and more defined by the hilly area in the south of the province. Only two Dutch riders, Michael Boogerd and Erik Dekker, had won the race in the last two decades before Mathieu van der Poel's famous win in 2019. Both Boogerd and Dekker beat American Lance Armstrong in a two-man sprint in Maastricht, in 1999 and 2001 respectively. The 2001 race only had 37 finishers of a 190-strong pack, the lowest number in modern times. Boogerd shares the record of seven podium finishes with Jan Raas, having achieved one victory, four-second places, two third places and several other top-ten finishes. Cauberg finish From 2003 to 2016, the finish was shortly after the top of the Cauberg climb in Valkenburg. Kazakh rider Alexander Vinokourov won the first uphill-finish edition with an attack before the Cauberg. In 2013 the finish was moved 1.8 km away from the top of the Cauberg, near the centre of Valkenburg, resulting in a mainly flat, straight finish. In 2017 the race organisers moved the finish so that the final climb of the Cauberg came 19 km from the finish, hoping for a "more open" race. The most successful rider in recent years has been classics specialist Philippe Gilbert. The Belgian won the race four times between2010 and 2017, basing his victories on late bursts of speed and power on the Cauberg. Therefore, earned the nickname of ‘Mister Cauberg’ and ‘Amstel Gilbert Race’ came up. In 2015 Polish rider Michał Kwiatkowski became the first reigning world champion to win the race since Bernard Hinault in 1981. Kwiatkowski won again seven years later, when he outsprinted Benoît Cosnefroy in the finish of the 2022 edition. Mathieu van der Poel famously won in 2019, where he first at the Gulperberg broke away but was caught back before Kruisberg and fell back. Julian Alaphillippe and Jacob Fuglsang went together away at Eyserbosweg and thought later they would sprint for the win. But Van der Poel came back with a little group in his wheel and managed to catch the two leaders and would sprint for the win. on his way up Eyserbosweg in 2006 ==Route==

Although the Netherlands are known for their flat, wind-affected roads, the Amstel Gold Race takes place in the hilly southern region of Limburg. The route twists through the rolling Limburg countryside, often turning abruptly to climb as many hills (bergen) as possible. The most notable climb is the Cauberg, which is covered up to three times, and has sometimes been in the last few kilometres of the race. The Keutenberg and the Eyserbosweg are two other renowned climbs of the race. Course changes Although the race is younger than many other cycling classics, the course changed considerably over the years. The race's inaugural edition started in Breda in North Brabant, but quickly moved closer to the hilly region. From 1971 to 1997 the start was in Heerlen. The race started since 1998 on the central market square in Maastricht's Inner City and returns there in 2024 after the starts at Vrijthof square between 2019 and 2023. Since 2005 the race is run entirely within the boundaries of Dutch Limburg, except right after the Vaalserberg climb, there is a short passage through Gemmenich in Belgium. Past editions in the 90s had covered significant parts of Liège in Belgium, addressing the Mount Saint Peter, meant to include a larger selection of climbs. From 1991 until 2002 the race ended in Maastricht as well. The finish was on the Maasboulevard, keeping the flat run-in to the finish. In 2000 sprint specialist Erik Zabel won the race, leading out the sprint of a 20-strong group. From 2003 to 2012 the finish was at the top of the Cauberg climb, in the Valkenburg municipality, close to Maastricht. The finale was redesigned in 2013 and the finish was moved west, near the hamlets of Vilt and Berg en Terblijt, 1.8 kilometres from the top of the Cauberg. The altered finish mirrors the location that was used for the 2012 UCI Road World Championships in Valkenburg. Since 2017, the fourth and final climb of the Cauberg has been removed, so that the Geulhemmerberg and Bemelerberg (7.4 km from the finish) are the last climbs; the change was intended to open up the race. ==Race characteristics==

Ardennes Week Although the race location in Limburg is not part of the Ardennes, neither geographically nor geologically, it is often considered the opening race of the Ardennes Week. In 2004, the Amstel Gold Race swapped places with Liège–Bastogne–Liège on the international calendar. Ever since, the race is organised on the Sunday after the cobbled classic Paris–Roubaix and before the Ardennes classic Flèche Wallonne the next Wednesday. , in the southeast of Limburg. Until 2002, the Amstel Gold Race had a more flat run-in to the finish and was sometimes won by riders excelling in the cobbled classics, notably the Tour of Flanders. In recent decades, organizers chose to shift the focus of the race some more to the hills and it changed the character of the race. The peloton is usually made up of the same riders starting in the Ardennes races. Classics riders with sufficient climbing abilities as well as Grand Tour specialists. The Dutch hills, in the very south of Limburg, are the Netherlands' only hilly region. The chalk–loess relief was formed by the foothills of the neighbouring Ardennes and Eifel low mountain ranges. The hills define the character of the race: they are generally shorter and not as high as in the Ardennes, but come in much higher frequency than in Liège–Bastogne–Liège. The highest point of the region and the race is Vaalserberg at 322.7 m above sea level; the top of the Cauberg is at 133.7 m altitude. Hills ” Philippe Gilbert riding up the hill in the finale of the 2012 UCI Road World Championships The present course features more than 30 short climbs which come in faster succession as the race progresses, meaning riders have little time to recover in between the hills. 25 climbs are covered in the last 165 kilometres of the race, with eight coming in the final 45 kilometres. The steepest are the Cauberg, Keutenberg and Eyserbosweg. Some ascents are as steep as 22% (Keutenberg), others are more gently sloped. In contrast to the cobbled bergs in the Tour of Flanders, the hills in Limburg are all asphalted. Attempting to explain the difficulty of the course Peter Easton recounts a mathematician's calculations: ... applying logic to overcome a sense of incomprehension is the key to understanding this race. And there is truth in numbers. Six of the climbs come in the first 92 kilometers—one every 15.2 kilometres. The remaining 25 come over the final 165 kilometres. That's one every 6.6 kilometres. Breaking it down further, the final hour of racing has eight climbs in 42 kilometres. Now we're down to one every 5.25 km. At 40 km/h, that's one every 7 ½ minutes. Not overly funny, and definitely all business. The hills in the 2015 Amstel Gold Race: Nervous course The race is the Netherlands' largest professional race but is frequently criticized for the danger of its course. The route runs on narrow roads, through often densely populated suburbs and villages. Due to its high population density and the high cost of land, many Dutch houses do not have garages and cars are left parked in the street. Much of the course is urban, with many traffic-calming devices such as speed bumps, pinches, bollards, ramps, chicanes, refuge islands and roundabouts, prompting Scotland's Robert Millar to call it the Tour of the Roundabouts. Crashes are common in the race. ==Winners==

, in the rainbow jersey, on the podium after winning the 1975 Amstel Gold Race (pictured after winning the world title in 1979 in Valkenburg) won the Amstel Gold Race five times. Multiple winners Riders in italics are still active. Wins per country ==Women's race==

won the women's reboot edition in 2017. From 2001 to 2003, three editions of the Amstel Gold Race for elite women were held. In 2003, it was part of the UCI Women's Road World Cup. The race started in Maastricht 30 minutes after the men's. It was run over 114 km, taking in nine climbs and similarly finishing on top of the Cauberg. The race was discontinued after the third edition, because organization on the same day and on largely the same roads as the men's race was considered too difficult on the irregular circuits. After a 14-year hiatus, the women's race returned in 2017, organized on the same day as the men's race at approximately half the distance. Olympic road race champion Anna van der Breggen won the race with an attack at 8 km from the finish. ==Cyclosportive==

Since 2001 there is a Cyclosportive Amstel Gold Race, organized annually on the day before the professional event. Cycling fanatics and recreational bike riders can ride trajectories of 60, 100, 125, 150, 200 or 240 km. Every distance finishes on the location of the professional race, immediately after the climb of the Cauberg. The number of participants is restricted to 15,000, in order to secure riders' safety. In 2009 the official website crashed, because of a run on the tickets. In 2010 all 12,000 tickets were sold in just 38 minutes. ==Notes==