Amstel Gold

The Amstel Gold Race marks the end of the Spring Major Classics. Held in the Netherlands the Amstel Gold Race follows the River Amstel and ends near the town of Maastricht (Famous for the EU treaty ).The race is marked by tight hedgerow lanes with plenty of climbs and road furniture, the Dutch have followed a policy of traffic calming that may deter boy racers and the like from speeding, but do make for substantive obstacles

So, so Dutch, probably verging on a cliche

It's a real head in hands moment when the race hits the urban environment and rather than watch the head of the race, take a look at riders behind as they bunny hop over kerbs and exploit other options to widen the route.

A highlight for the fans is the climb of the Valkenburg which the race traverses a number of times, this tough hill animates the race and is just one of many ascents. Another highlight is the Caulberg most often packed with (Drunken) fans.

Previous winners
2007 Stefan Schumacher
2006 Frank Schleck
2005 Danilo Di Luca
2004 Davide Rebellin
2003 Alexandre Vinokourov
2002 Michele Bartoli
2001 Erik Dekker

Date/Website - April 20, Amstel Gold Race NED - www.amstelgoldrace.nl/