Cycling: With the Amstel Gold Race next Sunday (April 17th), the starting gun will be given for the Ardennes classics. So the time of the pavé specialists is over for now and the stage belongs to the punchers in the peloton. Who will come out on top this year? What special features await along the route? We'll tell you in our preview.
With Paris – Roubaix last weekend, the pavé phase of the classic season came to an end and now the Ardennes are waiting for the pros. For many fans and drivers, the Amstel Gold Race is the unofficial start to the Ardennes classics - unofficially because the race is very similar in profile and orientation to Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Walloon Arrow, but does not take place in the Ardennes, but in the Netherlands around the town of Maastricht.
Amstel Gold Race 2016 – The route
258km, 34 climbs and over 4.000 meters in altitude - these are the numbers for the Amstel Gold Race route. One can certainly congratulate the route planners for having managed to find a route with so many climbs and over 4.000 meters in altitude in 95% completely flat Holland. The area around Maastricht, in the very south of the Netherlands right on the Belgian border, is one of the few areas of the neighboring country where you will find the odd hill - it is therefore not surprising that the course of the Amstel Gold Race is mainly meandering through that very region, sending riders over the same roads and climbs multiple times.
The many short but often very steep climbs give the race its character: the pros never have to climb more than 3.000m in one go, but the high speed, the steep climbs and the often quite complicated route make the Amstel Gold Race a big one Challenge. The area around Maastricht is densely populated and the route therefore leads through numerous towns, communities and settlements: Anyone who has ever been to the neighboring country knows what that means: many traffic islands, lane dividers, speed bumps and other obstacles almost make the route almost complete an obstacle course and require the utmost concentration.
The mountain of decision will again be the notorious Cauberg this year. The peloton passes the 1.200m long and average 5,8% steep elevation a few kilometers east of Maastricht three times. But only the last of the three crossings will make the difference - 1,8km after the top, the finish line awaits. In the period between 2003 and 2013, the rise was even more significant, as the goal was at the peak in those ten editions. But even so, the Cauberg is the place where the favorites lay their cards on the asphalt, even if the decision does not necessarily have to be made here. For example, last year Michal Kwiatkowski managed to get past the trio of Philippe Gilbert, Michael Matthews and Alejandro Valverde on the descent to the finish, although they managed to outperform him on the climb. Nevertheless: The Cauberg is still the place for the decisive attacks.
Amstel Gold Race 2016 – The favourites
Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky)
Last year's winner Michal Kwiatkowski is undoubtedly one of the big favorites for victory again this year. The Sky newcomer was able to celebrate his first big win of the season at E3 Harelbeke a few weeks ago when he simply left his successor in world champion dress, Peter Sagan (Tinkoff), in the final. In the Tour of Flanders, too, the 25-year-old showed an appealing performance over long stretches, although he lacked the strength to keep up with the leaders in the final. The former world champion starts on Sunday as the captain of a strong Sky team and will certainly do everything in his power to defend his title.
Philippe Gilbert (BMC)
Philippe Gilbert is arguably the most dominant figure in the race's recent history. With a total of three victories (2010, 2011 and 2014) and many other top 10 placements, victory in Maastricht is probably only possible for the Belgian. However, Gilbert had a very mixed start to the season this year – numerous minor injuries and a cold kept throwing the 2012 world champion back. Most recently, the 33-year-old made headlines because he clashed with two drunks during training and broke his index finger in the argument. However, nothing stands in the way of a start on Sunday and Gilbert would be only too happy to follow that up with a fourth win.
Simon Gerrans (Orica GreenEDGE)
After three third places in the last five years, Simon Gerrans finally wants to be on one of the top two podiums this year. The Australian started the season extremely well and dominated the Tour Down Under. Even if a second win of the season is still a long way off, good placings in the Tour of Catalonia and the Tour of Basque Country show the strong form of the 35-year-old Orica professional and, as a strong sprinter, he is also undoubtedly one of the drivers who benefit from the move of the finish line behind the Cauberg benefit. The Oceania team also have another rider in Michael Matthews who could be in contention for victory - it will be interesting to see how Gerrans and Matthews work together after the combination last caused some tension at the Road World Championships in Richmond had taken care of.
Amstel Gold Race 2016: TV and live streams
As in every year, there will be live pictures from the Netherlands on Eurosport in 2016. From 15:00 p.m. the broadcast will run via Eurosport 1. Those who prefer to watch the Internet can either go to the Eurosportplayer access, or from the streaming offer Zattoo Make use of which Eurosport can also be viewed for free. Cycling fans from outside Germany should take a look at www.cyclingfans.com throw - there you will find free-to-air Internet streams for almost all countries.
Amstel Gold Race TV broadcast
Date: 17.04.2016
Time: 15:00 p.m. – 17:00 p.m
Broadcaster: Eurosport 1
There are more TV tips on the subject of bicycles in our 14-day TV program.
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