Excitement Brews as the 2024 Amstel Gold Race Kicks Off Ardennes Classics Week
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Tired of Belgian bike races? Good news. Amstel Gold Race is here to kick off the Ardennes Classics week on Sunday. Now, it’s all about The Netherlands. In the women’s field, the start line is about as star-studded as it gets, with all the heavy hitters planning to be there. The men’s field, by comparison, is suffering a bit thanks to many early-season injuries and illnesses and a peloton that’s often divided between spring stage races versus the classics. Here’s what to expect on Sunday.
Amstel Gold’s History
Amstel Gold has been around since 1966 and was originally conceived as an attempt to put The Netherlands on the Spring Classics map since Belgium, France, and Italy had the bulk of the one-day races in the spring season. Now, it’s considered the start of Ardennes Week in racing, which includes next weekend’s Liege-Bastogne-Liege.
And yes, it’s sponsored by the beer company, if that wasn’t obvious.
In recent years, photo-finish issues have plagued the race, but last year, organizers finally got it together with better equipment.
Amstel Gold Race Ladies Edition
A women’s race called the Amstel Gold Race Ladies Edition (we know, ridiculous name) was first run from 2001 to 2003. After a 14-year hiatus, it reemerged in 2017, running the same day as the men’s race.
Here’s everything else you need to know about this year’s Amstel Gold race.
The Route
Amstel Gold is traditionally a hilly course: Not huge, sustained climbs, just short punchy ones. There are typically around 30 climbs (33 this year) for the men and roughly 15 for the women. This year, the men will race 255.2 km while the women will race 157.4 km. Both races will start in Maastricht, Netherlands.
Both races will feature the famed Cauberg climb, and the men’s race will see 10,794 feet of elevation gain over the course of the day. The women will hit it at just around 80 kilometers into the race, while the men will see it at kilometer 171.8. The climb is steep, uneven, technical, absolutely surrounded by cycling fans, and despite only being 1.2 kilometers long, it’s as brutal as the longest climbs in the Tour. It’s where an attack can go—and where the race can be won or lost in an instant.
The race finishes in Berg en Terblijt, Netherlands, for the men and women. In the final few kilometers, the men will have two kilometer-long climbs, while the women will face 21 climbs including five times up the Cauberg. Great news for fans who are there to enjoy the race, bad news for any tired racers.
Climbs of the 2024 Amstel Gold Race:
Maasberg
Adsteeg
Bergseweg
Korenweg
Nijswillerweg
Rijksweg N278
Wolfsberg
Loorberg
Schweibergerweg
Camerig
Drielandenpunt
Gemmenich
Epenerbaan/Vijlenerbos
Eperheide
Gulpenerberg
Plettenberg
Eyserweg
St.Remigiusstraat/Huls
Vrakelberg
Sibbergrubbe
Cauberg
Geulhemmerberg
Keerderberg
Bemelerberg
Loorberg
Gulperbergweg
Kruisberg
Eyserbosweg
Fromberg
Keutenberg
Cauberg
Geulhemmerberg
Bemelerberg
How to Watch
If you’re in the US or Canada, FloBikes ($30/month) is the best way to watch Amstel Gold. It’s unclear whether or not the women’s race will be streamed as well, but it’s likely. (Flo hasn’t been updating their race schedule very early this season, so it’s been difficult to get exact information ahead of time.) But at minimum, the men’s race will be available live and on-demand on FloBikes.com, the FloSports iOS app, and the FloSports app for Amazon FireTV, Roku, and Apple TV.
Sunday’s Amstel Gold Women’s race begins at 4:00 AM EST and is expected to finish right around 10:15 a.m. EST on Sunday. The men’s race sets off at 4:45 a.m. EST the same day, with an anticipated finish time of 12:45 p.m. EST. According to FloBikes, coverage should begin around 7:00 a.m., though it’s unclear how FloBikes plans to cover the races as they take place simultaneously.
What Happened Last Year
Tadej Pogačar took the win with a solo attack ahead of EF Education’s Ben Healy, who had a fantastic performance, including an effort to drop reigning MTB World Champion Tom Pidcock and chase down Pogačar. He didn’t manage to bridge up to the leader, but he took a fantastic second-place finish–a top moment in his career thus far—while Pidcock took third.
The race win was controversial, though. Yes, the photo finish situation was sorted, but there was a kerfuffle when riders and the internet complained that the car the race director was in came around Pogačar when he attacked, giving him the benefit of a draft that propelled his lead from a few seconds to nearly 40.
Nothing came of the controversy, and Pogačar’s win remains ratified. Pogačar later told WielerFlits, “That’s how it always goes in the race. I can’t do much about it. I can only cycle as fast as possible.”
In the women’s race, Demi Vollering took the win with a solo attack launched at two kilometers to go. She was followed by teammate Lotte Kopecky in second, with Shirin van Anrooij (Trek-Segafredo) rounding out the podium in the group sprint.
Riders to Watch
Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike)
After coming so close to a win at Paris-Roubaix Femmes last weekend, but just not nailing the sprint—and with a win this season at Dwars door Vlaanderen under her belt—the former World Champion and GOAT of women’s cycling will be on this start line. Never, ever count her out, especially if things get tactical.
The SD Worx-Protime Crew: Vollering, Kopecky, Wiebes
All three of of key SD Worx-Protime riders will come out to play this weekend. Kopecky will still be on a high from her incredibly Paris-Roubaix Femmes victory, and Wiebes will be feeling just as good after taking the sprint in the chase group behind her. Vollering has had a brief break, so will be showing up in top form, having planned her rest to coincide with the start of the Ardennes Classics. (Note: the start list is preliminary at this point, so there’s a slight chance one of the Big Three on the team will sit it out for a break.)
Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM)
After coming so close to a win at Flanders and Strade Bianche this season, then skipping Paris-Roubaix Femmes last weekend, Niewiadoma might just have the recovery and the legs needed to take on the SD Worx behemoth this weekend.
Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck)
At this point, who’s going to stop him? Tour of Flanders, Paris Roubaix, the E3 Saxo Classic… the only race he didn’t win was Ghent-Wevelgem, which he lost in a sprint to Mads Pedersen. But he won’t make that mistake again, and with Wout Van Aert still out of contention due to injury, it’s pretty hard to imagine any other rider taking the win from MvdP.
Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers)
After a run of bad luck this season, Pidcock is likely looking for a win. He was third at Amstel Gold last year, so he knows what he needs to do to win it. And we love any chance of a Pidcock versus Van der Poel matchup, whether it’s on the ‘cross course, the MTB world championship, or a cobbled classic.
Dylan Van Baarle (Visma-Lease a Bike)
I hesitate to say that Visma-Lease a Bike is experiencing a power vacuum, but with Van Aert and Jonas Vingegaard-Hansen (still loving his new last name) both on the injured list, Van Baarle has a chance to show up as the team leader. His biggest claim to fame was his 2022 Paris-Roubaix win, which shows he’s capable of taking the big wins. He DNSed Paris-Roubaix last weekend due to illness, so this weekend could go either way for him. He may still be dealing with lingering symptoms, or he may be fresher than many of the riders after a break.
Other Riders to Watch
Ellen van Dijk (Lidl-Trek), Kristen Faulkner (EF Education-Cannnondale), Silvia Persico (UAE Team ADQ), Pfeiffer Georgi (Team dsm firmenich), Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ), Matej Mohorič (Bahrain-Victorious), Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck).
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