We are in the thick of the Ardennes Classics and on Sunday there will be one of the most anticipated appointments on the calendar: the sixtieth edition of the Amstel Gold Race, the Dutch classic that winds through the roads of Limburg with a route that closely mirrors last season's and promises spectacle from the opening moments. Start from Maastricht and finish in Valkenburg, 257 kilometers with no fewer than 33 small climbs and a total elevation gain of 3,400 meters. The finish is less than two kilometers from the top of the Cauberg, the most famous climb in the Netherlands.

to follow the live coverage of the entire race starting from 11 AM CLICK HERE

Extremely fragmented course, without long ascents and with continuous changes of pace. The day offers no real moments of recovery: the density of altitude difficulties favors progressive wear and tear, more than a clear selection on single points. After just fifteen kilometers, the race will come alive with the Maasberg, the first difficulty. From that moment on, the pace will be marked by a continuous sequence of walls and short climbs typical of the region, on asphalt. About 50 km from the finish, the most selective phase will begin with the climbs of Gulperberg, Kruisberg, Eyserbosweg and Fromberg, which will set the stage for decisive attacks. In the final twenty kilometers, you enter the Valkenburg circuit with Geulhemmerberg, Bemelerberg and especially the Cauberg, the symbol of the race, often the scene of winning attacks. It measures about 800 meters at 6-7% and is the springboard for decisive attacks before the finish line.

Last year the Amstel Gold Race delivered a spectacular finale. Pogacar's attack on the Kruisberg, with Van Aert, Evenepoel and Skjelmose on his heels. In the final, Evenepoel managed to close the gap, but at the sprint a surprise victory for the Dane Skjelmose ahead of Pogacar and Evenepoel, with Van Aert fourth at 34".

On Sunday, 175 riders from 25 teams will start: absent are Pogacar, Seixas and Van Aert, the big favorite is Evenepoel, who has yet to win the Amstel. It will be a battle with Skjelmose, Jorgenson, Laporte, Gregoire, Madouas and Alaphilippe.

Participants
The women's race covers 158 kilometers and 22 climbs. The course favors explosive, resilient athletes capable of repeating high-intensity efforts. Mischa Bredewold will defend her title: the Dutch rider from Team SD Worx – Protime should start, according to the provisional entry list, alongside Dutch national champion Lorena Wiebes and former winner Anna van der Breggen. They will have to face the strong FDJ United – Suez team, which fields European champion Demi Vollering, winner of the race in 2023, Elise Chabbey and the winner of Paris-Roubaix Femmes Franziska Koch. Also at the start will be Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon//SRAM zondacrypto) and Marianne Vos (Team Visma | Lease a Bike).

Lidl–Trek is counting on Lucinda Brand – second in 2018 – Fleur Moors, Shirin van Anrooij and Niamh Fisher-Black, while AG Insurance Soudal fields Ashleigh Moolman Pasio and Belgian national champion Justine Ghekiere. Fenix–Premier Tech relies on Puck Pieterse, third last year. A strong block also for Team Movistar with Liane Lippert and Cat Ferguson. The same goes for EF Education – Oatly with world champion Magdeleine Vallieres Mill, Kristen Faulkner and Cédrine Kerbaol.

Among the most anticipated outsiders are Letizia Paternoster (Liv–AlUla–Jayco), Silvia Persico and Karlijn Swinkels (UAE Team ADQ), Pfeiffer Georgi (Team Picnic PostNL) and Thalita de Jong (Human Powered Health).

THE MEN'S RACE STARTERS

Lidl - Trek
1. SKJELMOSE Mattias
2. KRAGH ANDERSEN Soren
3. MOLLEMA Bauke
4. MOSCA Jacopo
5. WITHEN PHILIPSEN Albert
6. SIMMONS Quinn
7. VERGAERDE Otto

UAE Team Emirates - XRG
11. WELLENS Tim
12. BARONCINI Filippo
13. BJERG Mikkel
14. COSNEFROY Benoit
15. GIAIMI Luca
16. GROSSSCHARTNER Felix
17. SIVAKOV Pavel

Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe
21. EVENEPOEL Remco
22. DENZ Nico
23. ETXEBERRIA Haimar
24. VAN POPPEL Danny
25. TRATNIK Jan
26. VAN DIJKE Tim
27. VERMEERSCH Gianni

Alpecin-Premier Tech
31. DEL GROSSO Tibor
32. BAYER Tobias
33. GLIVAR Gal
34. BUSATTO Francesco
35. HOULE Hugo
36. REMIJN Senna
37. VERSTRYNGE Emiel

Team Visma | Lease a Bike
41. LAPORTE Christophe
42. FIORELLI Filippo
43. HAGENES Per Strand
44. HUISING Menno
45. JORGENSON Matteo
46. TULETT Ben
47. ZINGLE Axel

Bahrain - Victorious
51. BILBAO Pello
52. MOHORIC Matej
53. MIHOLJEVIC Fran
54. MIQUEL Pau
55. VALTER Attila
56. VAN MECHELEN Vlad
57. ZAMBANINI Edoardo

Decathlon CMA CGM Team
61. LAPEIRA Paul
62. DEWULF Stan
63. DE PESTEL Sander
64. ISIDORE Noa
65. L'HOTE Antoine
66. LABROSSE Jordan
67. CHAMBERLAIN Oscar

EF Education - EasyPost
71. VAN DER LEE Jardi Christiaan
72. BATTISTELLA Samuele
73. BAUDIN Alex
74. HONORE Mikkel Frolich
75. LEONARD Michael
76. NERURKAR Lukas
77. SHAW James

Groupama - FDJ United
81. GREGOIRE Romain
82. COSTIOU Ewen
83. GENIETS Kevin
84. GERMANI Lorenzo
85. MADOUAS Valentin
86. PACHER Quentin
87. PALENI Enzo

INEOS Grenadiers
91. VAUQUELIN Kevin
92. GODON Dorian
93. HAIG Jack
94. JUNGELS Bob
95. LAURANCE Axel
96. RIVERA Brandon Smith
97. SHMIDT Artem

Lotto Intermarché
101. AERTS Toon
102. ARTZ Huub
103. BERCKMOES Jenno
104. BRAET Vito
105. ROTA Lorenzo
106. VAN BOVEN Luca
107. ZIMMERMANN Georg

Movistar Team
111. ADRIA Roger
112. GARCIA PIERNA Raul
113. MACIEJUK Filip
114. MORO Manlio
115. SERRANO Gonzalo
116. TESFATSION Natnael
117. NOVAK Pavel

NSN Cycling Team
121. LUTSENKO Alexey
122. COTE Pier-Andre
123. FRIGO Marco
124. NEILANDS Krists
125. GILMORE Brady
126. VAN TRICHT Floris
127. MARTI Pau

Soudal Quick-Step
131. EENKHOORN Pascal
132. RACCAGNI NOVIERO Andrea
133. REINDERINK Pepijn
134. SCHACHMANN Maximilian
135. VAN BAARLE Dylan
136. VAN WILDER Ilan
137. VANSEVENANT Mauri

Team Jayco AlUla
141. SCHMID Mauro
142. COVI Alessandro
143. DE PRETTO Davide
144. FOLDAGER Anders
145. HELLEMOSE Asbjorn
146. SUTTERLIN Jasha
147. VENDRAME Andrea

Team Picnic PostNL
151. BARGUIL Warren
152. BIESTERBOS Frits
153. DINHAM Matthew
154. FAURE PROST Alexy
155. KOERDT Bjorn
156. PEACE Oliver
157. VAN DEN BROEK Frank

Uno-X Mobility
161. KRON Andreas
162. CHARMIG Anthon
163. DVERSNES LAVIK Fredrik
164. JOHANNESSEN Anders Halland
165. KAMP Alexander
166. LEKNESSUND Andreas
167. SKAARSETH Anders

XDS Astana Team
171. ULISSI Diego
172. CHAMPOUSSIN Clement
173. CONCI Nicola
174. KUZMIN Anton
175. TONEATTI Davide
176. VAN BEKKUM Darren
177. VELASCO Simone

Cofidis
181. ARANBURU Alex
182. COQUARD Bryan
183. IZAGIRRE Ion
184. MAAS Jan
185. MAISONOBE Sam
186. OURSELIN Paul
187. TEUNS Dylan

Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team
191. HERMANS Quinten
192. AZPARREN Xabier Mikel
193. BAX Sjoerd
194. CAMPRUBI Marcel
195. LIEPINS Emils
196. MEURISSE Xandro
197. PARISINI Nicolo

Tudor Pro Cycling Team
201. ALAPHILIPPE Julian
202. ERIKSSON Jacob
203. HIRSCHI Marc
204. PLUIMERS Rick
205. SUTER Joel
206. WEISS Fabian
207. DONZE Robin

Caja Rural - Seguros RGA
211. BARCELO Fernando
212. BOU Joan
213. LOPEZ Joseba
214. MOLENAAR Alex
215. NICOLAU Joel
216. OLDANI Stefano
217. PRADES Eduard

Team Flanders - Baloise
221. DEWEIRDT Siebe
222. LAMBRECHT Michiel
223. LANHOVE Milan
224. MARIS Elias
225. THONNON Senne
226. VAN HEMELEN Vincent
227. VAN HAUTEGEM Leander

TotalEnergies
231. DUJARDIN Sandy
232. BONNET Thomas
233. DELBOVE Joris
234. DELETTRE Alexandre
235. BURGAUDEAU Mathieu
236. LE BERRE Mathis
237. RETAILLEAU Valentin

Unibet Rose Rockets
241. CHRISTOPHERSEN Cedrik Bakke
242. JOHANNINK Jelle
243. LOOCKX Lander
244. MERIS Sergio
245. STOCKMAN Abram
246. TOUPALIK Adam
247. VENTURINI Clemen