Amstel Gold Race podium history | 2016 edition | 2018 edition | Course map | Photos | Start list | Race course description

Maastricht - Valkenberg, 261 km, The Netherlands

Philippe Gilbert gets another big one

Weather at Valkenberg at 2:40 PM local time: 11C (52F), partly cloudy with 35% chance of rain. Wind from the west at 23 km/hr (14 mph).

The race: Here's the stage story from second-place Michal Kwiatkowski's Team Sky.

Michal Kwiatkowski was edged on the line by Philippe Gilbert (Quick-Step Floors) as he came agonisingly close to winning his second Amstel Gold Race.

Kwiatkowski and Gilbert had pulled clear of an elite breakaway group of seven, which also contained Sergio Henao, after trading attacks on the final climb to setup a final kilometre showdown.

It was the Belgian champion who prevailed however, as he countered Kwiatowski’s sprint for the line with a late burst on his own to add this title to his Tour of Flanders crown this season.

Sergio Henao put in a superb performance too, finishing just outside the top five after being one of the architects of the decisive move which would settle the race.
Sergio Henao was crucial in Kwiatowski's podium finish: The Colombian champion reacted to Tiesj Benoot’s (Lotto-Soudal) attack with 38km to go to create an elite group of seven other riders that would eventually decide the 52nd edition of the race.

The group also contained Ion Izaguirre (Team Bahrain Merida), Jose Rojas (Movistar), Michael Albisini (Orica-Scott), Bert-Jan Lindeman (Team LottoNL-Jumbo) and Nathan Haas (Dimension Data) and was quickly able to extend an advantage of a chasing pack slow to organise themselves.

However, a more select chasing group was able to edge closer and Kwiatkowski bridged the gap to join the front group.

The Team Sky duo worked well together to stretch the rest of the leaders as the number of climbs slowly decreased and only Gilbert was able to compete with Kwiatowski to setup a grandstand finish.

Kwiatowski was clearly disappointed with the result, but was quick to praise Gilbert and his teammates for their efforts. "It was a great race, but I'm not satisfied with the result. But what can I say? I was beaten by a great champion, congratulations Philippe. I am very happy with the team's performance, with an effort put by Sergio Henao. We were very motivated to win today.

He concluded: "All is not lost, just delayed."

Complete Results:

Photos

261 kilometers raced at an average speed of 39.983 km/hr

1	Philippe GILBERT	Quick-Step	6hr 31min 40sec
2	Michal KWIATKOWSKI	Sky	s.t.
3	Michael ALBASINI	Orica-Scott	@ 10sec
4	Nathan HAAS	Dimension Data	s.t.
5	Jose ROJAS	Movistar	s.t.
6	Sergio Luis HENAO	Sky	s.t.
7	Jon IZAGUIRRE	Bahrain-Merida	@ 14sec
8	Michael GOGL	Trek-Segafredo	+1:10
9	Sonny COLBRELLI	Bahrain-Merida	+1:11
10	Michael MATTHEWS	Sunweb	s.t.
11	Juan Jose LOBATO	Lotto NL-Jumbo	s.t.
12	Greg VAN AVERMAET	BMC	s.t.
13	Oliver NAESEN	Ag2r La Mondiale	s.t.
14	Arthur VICHOT	FDJ	s.t.
15	Tiesj BENOOT	Lotto Soudal	s.t.
16	Kristian SBARAGLI	Dimension Data	s.t.
17	Jay MCCARTHY	Bora-hansgrohe	s.t.
18	Daryl IMPEY	Orica-Scott	s.t.
19	Alejandro VALVERDE	Movistar	s.t.
20	Paul MARTENS	Lotto NL-Jumbo	s.t.
21	Sebastian LANGEVELD	Cannondale Drapac	s.t.
22	Christopher JUUL JENSEN	Orica-Scott	s.t.
23	Nick VAN DER LIJKE	Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij	s.t.
24	Tomasz MARCZYNSKI	Lotto Soudal	s.t.
25	Alex HOWES	Cannondale Drapac	s.t.
26	Maurits LAMMERTINK	Katusha Alpecin	s.t.
27	Diego ULISSI	UAE Abu Dhabi	s.t.
28	Anthony ROUX	FDJ	s.t.
29	Manuele MORI	UAE Abu Dhabi	s.t.
30	Georg PREIDLER	Sunweb	s.t.
31	Dion SMITH	Wanty-Groupe Gobert	s.t.
32	Fabio FELLINE	Trek-Segafredo	s.t.
33	Simone PETILLI	UAE Abu Dhabi	s.t.
34	Rudy MOLARD	FDJ	s.t.
35	MICHAEL VALGREN ANDERSEN	Astana	s.t.
36	Dries DEVENYNS	Quick-Step	s.t.
37	Jelle VANENDERT	Lotto Soudal	s.t.
38	Rui Alberto FARIA DA COSTA	UAE Abu Dhabi	s.t.
39	Bob JUNGELS	Quick-Step	s.t.
40	Enrico BATTAGLIN	Lotto NL-Jumbo	s.t.
41	Daniel MORENO	Movistar	s.t.
42	Tim WELLENS	Lotto Soudal	s.t.
43	CYRIL GAUTIER	Ag2r La Mondiale	s.t.
44	Dylan TEUNS	BMC	s.t.
45	Warren BARGUIL	Sunweb	s.t.
46	Tom-Jelte SLAGTER	Cannondale Drapac	+1:32
47	Antwan TOLHOEK	Lotto NL-Jumbo	+1:46
48	Jacques JANSE VAN RENSBURG	Dimension Data	+2:55
49	Simon CLARKE	Cannondale Drapac	+3:42
50	Dylan VAN BAARLE	Cannondale Drapac	s.t.
51	Xandro MEURISSE	Wanty-Groupe Gobert	+4:05
52	Jakob FUGLSANG	Astana	s.t.
53	Angelo TULIK	Direct Energie	+6:19
54	Simon GESCHKE	Sunweb	s.t.
55	Cesare BENEDETTI	Bora-hansgrohe	+6:43
56	Patrick KONRAD	Bora-hansgrohe	s.t.
57	Serge PAUWELS	Dimension Data	s.t.
58	Thomas SPRENGERS	Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise	s.t.
59	Jonathan HIVERT	Direct Energie	s.t.
60	Lilian CALMEJANE	Direct Energie	s.t.
61	Gianluca BRAMBILLA	Quick-Step	s.t.
62	Giovanni VISCONTI	Bahrain-Merida	s.t.
63	Alessandro DE MARCHI	BMC	+6:47
64	Sam OOMEN	Sunweb	+7:05
65	Tosh VAN DER SANDE	Lotto Soudal	+7:16
66	Petr VAKOC	Quick-Step	+7:30
67	Grega BOLE	Bahrain-Merida	s.t.
68	Michal GOLAS	Sky	s.t.
69	Sean DE BIE	Lotto Soudal	s.t.
70	Bram TANKINK	Lotto NL-Jumbo	s.t.
71	Jérôme BAUGNIES	Wanty-Groupe Gobert	s.t.
72	Bert-Jan LINDEMAN	Lotto NL-Jumbo	+9:21
73	Lorenzo ROTA	Bardiani-CSF	s.t.
74	Pim LIGTHART	Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij	s.t.
75	Rúben GUERREIRO	Trek-Segafredo	s.t.
76	Thomas DEGAND	Wanty-Groupe Gobert	s.t.
77	Ángel VICIOSO ARCOS	Katusha Alpecin	s.t.
78	Martijn BUDDING	Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij	s.t.
79	SEBASTIAN HENAO	Sky	s.t.
80	Jeroen MEIJERS	Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij	+9:30
81	Romain SICARD	Direct Energie	s.t.
82	KEVIN REZA	FDJ	+10:26
83	Mikael CHEREL	Ag2r La Mondiale	s.t.
84	BENOIT VAUGRENARD	FDJ	s.t.
85	Eliot LIETAER	Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise	s.t.
86	Matej MOHORIC	UAE Abu Dhabi	s.t.
87	Ben HERMANS	BMC	s.t.
88	Silvan DILLIER	BMC	s.t.
89	Jan TRATNIK	CCC Sprandi Polkowice	s.t.
90	Jakub KACZMAREK	CCC Sprandi Polkowice	s.t.
91	Simone PONZI	CCC Sprandi Polkowice	s.t.
92	Jesus HERRADA	Movistar	s.t.
93	André CARDOSO	Trek-Segafredo	s.t.
94	Viacheslav KUZNETSOV	Katusha Alpecin	s.t.
95	Jaco VENTER	Dimension Data	s.t.
96	Mads Würtz SCHMIDT	Katusha Alpecin	+12:11
97	Rick ZABEL	Katusha Alpecin	s.t.
98	Roy CURVERS	Sunweb	s.t.
99	Floris GERFS	BMC	s.t.
100	Kevin DELTOMBE	Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise	s.t.
101	Tao GEOGHEGAN HART	Sky	s.t.
102	Adrian KUREK	CCC Sprandi Polkowice	s.t.
103	Jonas KOCH	CCC Sprandi Polkowice	s.t.
104	Michal PALUTA	CCC Sprandi Polkowice	s.t.
105	Maximilian SCHACHMANN	Quick-Step	s.t.
106	Brendan CANTY	Cannondale Drapac	s.t.
107	Giulio CICCONE	Bardiani-CSF	s.t.
108	Guillaume MARTIN	Wanty-Groupe Gobert	s.t.
109	Wilco KELDERMAN	Sunweb	s.t.
110	Andrea PASQUALON	Wanty-Groupe Gobert	s.t.
111	Axel DOMONT	Ag2r La Mondiale	s.t.
112	Timo ROOSEN	Lotto NL-Jumbo	s.t.
113	Michael SCHÄR	BMC	s.t.
114	Stijn VANDENBERGH	Ag2r La Mondiale	s.t.
115	Carlos Alberto BETANCUR	Movistar	s.t.
116	Nikita STALNOV	Astana	s.t.
117	Arnaud COURTEILLE	FDJ	s.t.
118	Imanol ERVITI	Movistar	s.t.
119	Rory SUTHERLAND	Movistar	s.t.
120	Oscar RIESEBEEK	Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij	s.t.
121	Johann VAN ZYL	Dimension Data	s.t.
122	Aime DE GENDT	Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise	s.t.
123	Pieter VANSPEYBROUCK	Wanty-Groupe Gobert	s.t.
124	Mathew HAYMAN	Orica-Scott	s.t.
125	Toms SKUJINS	Cannondale Drapac	s.t.
126	Roman KREUZIGER	Orica-Scott	s.t.
127	Gregor MÜHLBERGER	Bora-hansgrohe	s.t.

2017 Amstel Gold Race map:

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Photos by Fotoreporter Sirotti:

I believe there is a law that all web pages devoted to the Amstel Gold Race are required to have a picture of a windmill.

There are more than a few hills in the Ardennes Forest

 

French Champion Arthur Vichot ascends the Keutenberg

Michal Kwiatkowski drops the hammer on the break and Philippe Gilbert reacts.

Philppe Gilbert and Michal Kwiatkowski have just gone clear of the break which can be seen behind them

Philippe Gilbert signals that this is his fourth Amstel Gold Race win

Ten seconds later Michael Albasini is third

Gilbert enjoys his race win.

The podium, from left: Michal Kwiatkowski (2nd), Philippe Gilbert & Michael Albasini (3rd)

Start list with back numbers, April 15, 2017:

	BAHRAIN-MERIDA
1	GASPAROTTO Enrico
2	ARASHIRO Yukiya
3	BOLE Grega
4	WANG Mei Yin
5	COLBRELLI Sonny
6	IZAGUIRRE Jon
7	GARCIA Ivan
8	VISCONTI Giovanni
	TEAM SKY
11	KWIATKOWSKI Michal
12	DOULL Owain
13	GEOGHEGAN HART Tao
14	GOLAS Michal
15	HENAO Sebastian
16	HENAO Sergio
17	WISNIOWSKI Lukasz
18	VAN POPPEL Danny
	QUICK-STEP FLOORS
21	GILBERT Philippe
22	BRAMBILLA Gianluca
23	DEVENYNS Dries
24	SCHACHMANN Maximilian
25	JUNGELS Bob
26	MARTIN Daniel
27	VAKOC Petr
28	STYBAR Zdenek
	MOVISTAR
31	VALVERDE Alejandro
32	BETANCUR Carlos Alberto
33	ERVITI Imanol
34	HERRADA Jesús
35	MORENO Daniel
36	ROJAS Jose Joaquin
37	SUTHERLAND Rory
38	SOLER Marc
	ORICA-SCOTT
41	KREUZIGER Roman
42	ALBASINI Michael
43	HEPBURN Michael
44	GERRANS Simon
45	IMPEY Daryl
46	JUUL JENSEN Christopher
47	KEUKELEIRE Jens
48	HAYMAN Mathew
	TEAM SUNWEB
51	MATTHEWS Michael
52	CURVERS Roy
53	GESCHKE Simon
54	KELDERMAN Wilco
55	BARGUIL Warren
56	OOMEN Sam
57	PREIDLER Georg
58	TIMMER Albert
	LOTTO-SOUDAL
61	WELLENS Tim
62	BENOOT Tiesj
63	DE BIE Sean
64	MARCZYNSKI Tomasz
65	MERTZ Rémy
66	DE CLERCQ Bart
67	VAN DER SANDE Tosh
68	VANENDERT Jelle
	BMC
71	VAN AVERMAET Greg
72	DE MARCHI Alessandro
73	DILLIER Silvan
74	GERTS Floris
75	HERMANS Ben
76	OSS Daniel
77	TEUNS Dylan
78	SCHÄR Michael
	LOTTO NL-JUMBO
81	BOOM Lars
82	BATTAGLIN Enrico
83	TOLHOEK Antwan
84	LINDEMAN Bertjan
85	LOBATO Juan Jose
86	MARTENS Paul
87	ROOSEN Timo
88	TANKINK Bram
	BORA-HANSGROHE
91	KONRAD Patrick
92	BASKA Erik
93	BENEDETTI Cesare
94	BURGHARDT Marcus
95	MCCARTHY Jay
96	MUHLBERGER Gregor
97	PFINGSTEN Christoph
98	SCHWARZMANN Michael
	TREK-SEGAFREDO
101	BEPPU Fumiyuki
102	CARDOSO Andre Fernando
103	DANIEL Gregory
104	FELLINE Fabio
105	GOGL Michael
106	GUERREIRO Ruben
107	HERNANDEZ Jesus
108	THEUNS Edward
	ASTANA
111	FUGLSANG Jakob
112	GATTO Oscar
113	GRIVKO Andriy
114	BRESCHEL Matti
115	LUTSENKO Alexey
116	DE VREESE Laurens
117	STALNOV Nikita
118	VALGREN ANDERSEN Michael
	KATUSHA-ALPECIN
121	BIERMANS Jenthe
122	KUZNETSOV Vyacheslav
123	LAMMERTINK Maurits
124	ZABEL Rick
125	MATHIS Marco
126	PLANCKAERT Baptiste
127	WÜRTZ SCHMIDT Mads
128	VICIOSO Angel
	AG2R LA MONDIALE
131	CHEREL Mickaël
132	DUVAL Julien
133	DOMONT Axel
134	GAUTIER Cyril
135	GOUGEARD Alexis
136	JAUREGUI Quentin
137	NAESEN Oliver
138	VANDENBERGH Stijn
	FDJ
141	COURTEILLE Arnaud
142	EIKING Odd Christian
143	VICHOT Arthur
144	MOLARD Rudy
145	PINEAU Cedric
146	REZA Kévin
147	ROUX Anthony
148	VAUGRENARD Benoît
	UAE-TEAM EMIRATES
151	FARIA DA COSTA Rui Alberto
152	BONO Matteo
153	MARCATO Marco
154	MOHORIC Matej
155	MORI Manuele
156	PETILLI Simone
157	SWIFT Ben
158	ULISSI Diego
	CANNONDALE-DRAPAC
161	VAN BAARLE Dylan
162	BETTIOL Alberto
163	CANTY Brendan
164	CLARKE Simon
165	HOWES Alex
166	SKUJINS Toms
167	SLAGTER Tom Jelte
168	LANGEVELD Sebastian
	DIMENSION DATA
171	HAAS Nathan
172	PAUWELS Serge
173	JANSE VAN RENSBURG Jacques
174	KING Benjamin
175	REGUIGUI Youcef
176	SBARAGLI Kristian
177	VAN ZYL Johann
178	VENTER Jacobus
	SPORT VLAANDEREN-BALOISE
181	VAN HECKE Preben
182	DECLERCQ Benjamin
183	DELTOMBE Kevin
184	LIETAER Eliot
185	SPRENGERS Thomas
186	VAN GESTEL Dries
187	DE GENDT Aimé
188	VAN ROOY Kenneth
	ROOMPOT-NEDERLANDSE LOTERIJ
191	ARIESEN Tim
192	BUDDING Martijn
193	LIGTHART Pim
194	MEIJERS Jeroen
195	TUSVELD Martijn
196	VAN DER LIJKE Nick
197	RIESEBEEK Oscar
198	VAN DER HOORN Taco
	WANTY–GROUPE GOBERT
201	VAN KEIRSBULCK Guillaume
202	MEURISSE Xandro
203	BAUGNIES Jérôme
204	DEGAND Thomas
205	MINNAARD Marco
206	MARTIN Guillaume
207	PASQUALON Andrea
208	VANSPEYBROUCK Pieter
	BARDIANI-CSF
211	BARBIN Enrico
212	BOEM Nicola
213	CICCONE Giulio
214	MAESTRI Mirco
215	MARONESE Marco
216	ALBANESE Vincenzo
217	ROTA Lorenzo
218	SIMION Paolo
	CCC SPRANDI POLKOWICE
221	PATERSKI Maciej
222	KUREK Adrian
223	PALUTA Michal
224	KOCH Jonas
225	PONZI Simone
226	SISR Frantisek
227	KACZMAREK Jakub
228	TRATNIK Jan
	DIRECT ENERGIE
231	COQUARD Bryan
232	CALMEJANE Lilian
233	BOUDAT Thomas
234	DUCHESNE Antoine
235	HIVERT Jonathan
236	OURSELIN Paul
237	SICARD Romain
238	TULIK Angelo

Organizer's race description:

The Amstel Gold Race finishes no longer at the top of the Cauberg in Valkenburg since 2013. The finish line is drawn 1.8 kilometers away, in exactly the same spot where the World Championship ended in 2012. The organization of the only Dutch cycling classic made the choice for the relocation of the finish to the Rijksweg in Vilt, following the positive experience around the World Championship. Amstel Gold Race course director Leo van Vliet was coach of the Dutch men team during this World Championship.

The organization of the Amstel Gold Race has decided to modify the route of the Amstel Gold Race in 2017 again. After the start at the Market square in Maastricht, the riders will ride three different big laps through the Southern Limburgian hilly landscape, including three climbs of the Cauberg and passings of the finish line in Vilt-Valkenburg.

From the moment that the bunch conquers the Cauberg for the third time and passes the finish line, the local lap will start with the climb of the Geulhemmerberg and the Bemelerberg, just like in the last years. But, where the riders had to conquer one ultimate climb of the Cauberg towards the last kilometre, after the climb of the Bemelerberg in the last four editions, now the most famous Dutch ‘cycling climb’ is deleted from the course in the last lap. Because of this change, the riders will head left towards Vilt right away from the top of the Daalhemmerweg at the roundabout. From the roundabout it will be about 2 kilometres towards the finish line.

Course director Leo van Vliet: “With Roman Kreuziger, Philippe Gilbert, Michal Kwiatkowski and Enrico Gasparotto the Amstel Gold Race had great winners the latest years. Despite this, after the race there always was discussion that the course was locked too long because the Cauberg at two kilometres from the finish would be too decisive. However it is a worldwide image in many races that riders wait a long time until the race enters the same breaking point every year. By deleting the last climb of the Cauberg from our race we hope to create a more open race, which leads to more potential winners and the attacking riders will have more change.”

The organization hopes that the Amstel Gold Race will have a less predictable course image than before. “It are not the organizers, but the riders and the teams that make the race. It is clear that the Cauberg, at around 19 kilometres from the finish, will be less decisive” according to course director Leo van Vliet.

The riders have to cover about 261 kilometers in the Amstel Gold Race of 2017 and there will be 35 climbs on the course.

On April 16, the 52nd edition of the Amstel Gold Race will take place. The race starts at 10:20 at the Market square in Maastricht and finishes around 16:57 in Valkenburg, where the successor of winner of 2016 -  Enrico Gasparotto – will be crowned.