Male Team 21 Apr
Amstel Gold Race
265.7 Kilometers
It’s time for another round of hills in the Netherlands and Belgium, and with it comes another chance for Alejandro Valverde to write his name in the palmarès of the Amstel Gold Race. The Dutch classic’s route has, though, seen changes in its last few years, mostly in its finale, which makes harder -yet not impossible- for punchy climbers to have an edge on the resistant sprinters, with no big climbers near the finish in Valkenburg.
The long 265km route from Maastricht to Berg en Terblijt -the long, already traditional final straight in the Rijksweg- are a rope into a pocket, an endless succession of loops and turns, with 35 little hills and three passages through the finish prior to the end. Even if riders never stop climbing, usually the favourites tend to pay more attention at 178km into the race (87 before the finish), with the second of three ascents to the Cauberg. From there, the peloton tackles what will be the closing circuit -with the côtes of Geulhemmerberg and Bemelerberg- and later heads into a series of five key ascents, just over 20km apart: Gulperberg (-44km), Kruisberg (-39km), Eyserbosweg (-37km), Fromberg (-33km) and the steep Keutenberg (-29 km), with slopes up to 20%.
From the latter, we’ll be heading down towards Valkenburg, climb the Cauberg for the last time and start the final lap -through Geulhemmerberg (-14km) and Bemelerberg (-7km)- which doesn’t include a final descent. That makes for a more courageous approach to the finish, where attacks further away from the finish stand a stronger chance.