The Beer Race, first assault of the Ardennes' trio
Amstel Gold Race is the most important Dutch race. Sponsored by the brewing company that gives its name to the event since its first edition in 1966, the race is the first of the three races that make up the Ardennes trio, along with the Belgian races La Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. As for the women's race, it has much less history than the men's event and this year only reaches its ninth edition, but it is worth highlighting the efforts of the organization to prestige the race, which since last year has equalized the prize money between the men's and women's races.
Both races takes place in the Dutch region of Limburg, the easternmost of the Netherlands’ provinces, which borders Germany to the east and Belgium to the south. This region is not as flat as the rest of the country, and its hills are characteristic of the race.
Amstel Gold Race Ladies Edition
Route: This year the women's race adds 30 more kilometers than the previous edition, totaling 155 km and 1794 meters of climbing. The local circuit, which the cyclists will have to complete four times, includes three short climbs, of which the steepest is the Cauberg (0.9 km at 9%).
Favorites: Annemiek Van Vleuten (1200), Demi Vollering (1200), Elisa Longo Borghini (1200), Marianne Vos (1200), Lotte Kopecky (1000), Silvia Persico (800), Elise Chabbey (1000), Cecile Uttrup Ludwig (1000), Liane Lippert (1000), Elisa Balsamo (1000), Katarzyna Niewiadoma (1000), Juliette Labous (1000), Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (1000), Soraya Paladin (600) and last year's winner Marta Cavalli (800) are the main favorites from a spectacular start list.
Amstel Gold Race
Route: Meanwhile, the men will have to tackle 33 climbs, on a very twisty route that totals 252 kilometers and 3242 meters of positive elevation gain.
Favorites: Tadej Pogačar (1200), Michal Kwiatkowski (400), Thomas Pidcock (600), Romain Bardet (800); Matej Mohorič (800), Sergio Higuita (1000), Richard Carapaz (1000), Michael Woods (600), David Gaudu (1000), Neilson Powless (600), Mauro Sachmid (400), Bauke Mollema (600), Marc Hirschi (600), Benôit Cosnefroy (400), Andreas Kron (600), Andrea Bagioli (400), Warren Barguil (400), Mattias Skelmosje (800), Dorian Godon (200), Axel Zingle (200), Corbin Strong (200).
Photo: © Amstel Gold Race