The most important cycling race in the Netherlands, named after its sponsor, the Amstel brewery, is comparatively young. It was first held for men in 1966. The women's race premiered in 2001 - but then took a long break from 2003 to 2017. This year, the race will take place a week earlier than usual. Due to the French presidential election, the dates of Paris-Roubaix were swapped with the Amstel Gold Race. The classic is considered to be special, as it features loops around the villages in the Limburg hills and some mountains are ridden several times. The many short but tough climbs ensure extreme power peaks - an alternation of full throttle and reasonably recovering slipstreaming.
The men's race: 33 times uphill
The start is at the Vrijthof in Maastricht. From there the Men 254.1 kilometres over a total of 33 climbs. The route is divided into three sections, some of which lead over the same climbs. The Gulperbergweg, Loorberg, Sibbergrubbe and Bemelerberg have to be climbed twice. The Geulhemmerberg and the Cauberg, a particularly short but steep climb, form the final of the three passages. Until 2013, the finish of the Amstel Gold Race was on the Cauberg in Valkenberg. After the positive experience at the 2012 World Championships, its finish was taken over and has since been the Rijksweg in Vilt, which is 1.8 kilometres behind the Cauberg. Since 2017, this is also no longer the last climb of the race. After the final passage, the climb is followed by the Geulhemmerberg and the Bemelerberg. Alongside the Cauberg, the Keutenberg at kilometre 230 is one of the most difficult sections of the race with a maximum gradient of 22%.
Review Amstel Gold Race 2021
After the 2020 race was cancelled due to the coronavirus, last year's edition offered pure excitement. Belgian rider Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) accelerated on the final climb of the Cauberg and pulled away from Maximilian Schachmann (Bora hansgrohe) and Thomas Pidcock (INEOS Grenadiers) on the narrow roads to the Bemelerberg. The three-man sprint ended in a neck-and-neck race between Van Aert and Pidcock. Wout van Aert won in a photo finish.
Teams 2022
As the race is part of the UCI World Tour, the 18 men's World Teams are automatically eligible to start. The seven additional starting places go to the teams Alpecin-Fenix, B&B Hotels P/B KTM, Bardiani CSF Faizane, Bingoal Pauwels Sauces WB, Sport Vlaanderen - Baloise, Team Arkea - Samsic and TotalEnergies.
The women's race: 19 climbing sections
The Women ride a total of 128.5 kilometres. Both the start at the Vrijthof in Maastricht and the finish at the Rijksweg in Vilt are the same as for the men. The shorter Route leads over 19 mountainsbut the women also have to climb the Cauberg three times and the tough Keutenberg once. The women start in a northerly direction and complete ten hills before they have to ride the Geulhemmerberg, Bemelerberg and Cauberg climbs three times in succession. Unlike the men's race, there are no further hills from the Cauberg to the finish, which is 1.8 kilometres away.
Review Amstel Gold Race 2021
Last year, the women's race was also full of suspense. Poland's Katarzyna Niewiadoma and Italy's Elisa Longo Borghini were able to break away long before the final climb. However, the tactical game did not work out, as the leading duo was caught by the chasing group shortly before the finish. Marianne Vos secured a double victory for Team Jumbo-Visma ahead of Demi Vollering. Annemiek van Vleuten completed the all-Dutch podium. Vos thus wins the only Dutch classic at the same venue where she won the world title ten years ago.
Women's teams 2022
In the women's category, the 14 teams with a Women's World Tour licence will automatically start. In addition, ten UCI Women's Continental teams are taking part: Andy Schleck - CP NVST - Immo Losch, Bingoal Casino-Chevalmeire Cycling Team, Ceratizit-WNT Pro Cycling Team, GT Krush Tunap Pro Cycling, Le Col-Wahoo, NXTG by Experza, Parkhotel Valkenburg, Planet-Pura, Team COOP-Hitec Produkte and Valcar Travel & Service.
All information about the Amstel Gold Race at a glance
Date: 10 April 2022
Place: Maastricht (Netherlands)
Distance: 254.1 kilometres (men), 128.5 kilometres (women)
Edition: 56th men, 8th women
First race: 1966 (men), 2001 (women)
Record winner: Jan Raas (NED, five times), women different winner in each edition (four times Netherlands)
German winners: Olaf Ludwig (1992), Erik Zabel (2000), Stefan Schumacher (2007)
Result 2021:
Men
- Wout van Aert (Belgium / Jumbo-Visma), 5:03:29
- Thomas Pidcock (Great Britain / Ineos Grenadiers)
- Maximilian Schachmann (Germany / Bora-Hansgrohe), (all) same time
- Michael Matthews (Australia / Bikeexchange), + 3 sec.
- Alejandro Valverde (Spain / Movistar), + 3 sec.
Women
- Marianne Vos (Netherlands / Jumbo-Visma), 3:00:20
- Demi Vollering (Netherlands / SD Worx)
- Annemiek van Vleuten (Netherlands / Movistar Women)
- Amanda Spratt (Australia / Bikeexchange)
- Soraya Paladin (Italy / Liv Racing), all same time
Key points: Cauberg and Bemelerberg
Website: www.amstel.nl/amstelgoldrace
TV: 10:30 - 12:00 (women), 13:45 - 17:30 (men) on Eurosport 1
RTF at the Amstel Gold Race
One day before the professional race, on 9 April 2022, around 15,000 cycling fans will be able to compete on six different course lengths. From the offered route lengths of 65, 100, 125, 150, 200 and 240 kilometres all start on the Geulhemmerberg and end with the challenging Cauberg. Registration is no longer possible for 2022, but the AGR365 project offers a replacement. The permanently signposted routes make it possible to ride the routes all year round. The three divided loops each lead through a different part of the hilly country. The northernmost loop covers 77.33 kilometres and 648 metres in altitude. The middle loop is the longest and includes the most climbs. On the 109.78 kilometres and 1,732 metres in altitude, cyclists are led over the famous border triangle in Vaals. The third loop, covering 77 kilometres and 1,109 metres in altitude, includes the two toughest and most challenging mountains, Keutenberg and Cauberg. The routes can be downloaded from: www.amstel.nl/amstelgoldrace/experience/agr365
