The 2022 road cycling classics season continues this Sunday (10 April) with the first of the Ardennes races, the Amstel Gold Race in the Netherlands.
Traditionally held after Paris-Roubaix, this year's 56th Amstel Gold Race has swapped positions on the men's calendar with the French race due to presidential elections in France.
As it has every year since 2013, the men will begin in Maastricht and end in the village of Berg en Terblijt, Valkenburg, after a 254km (158mi) race. The women's race will begin and finish in the same localities, but will be around 130km (80mi) shorter.
Last year's women's race was won by Marianne Vos, the 2012 Olympic and three-time world road race champion.
Belgium's Wout van Aert is the defending men's champion, but will not be in the line-up after missing last week's Tour of Flanders with Covid-19. There has not been a timeline set on his recovery.
2022 Amstel Gold Race routes - men's and women's parcours
The men's route will have 33 ascents, including three climbs of the Caulberg, where the race used to finish.
Starting in Maastricht, the riders will make their way north and then east, before cutting back west towards Valkenburg, taking them 56.4 km into the race with 392m of climbing.
After crossing the finish line for the first time, the race will head towards the Dutch-Belgian-German tripoint, including a climb of the Gemmenich in Belgium, before returning towards Valkenburg. This section of the race is 109.6km long, and consists of a vertical gain of 1344m.
The second circuit is shorter, at 64.3km long – but with another 681m of climbing, legs are sure to be tiring by now. After the third passage of the finish line, a short finishing 16km loop around Valkenburg follows, including the 33rd and final climb, the Bemelerberg, with 7km to go.
The Amstel Gold Race Ladies Edition cuts out around 130km of the men's race. The opening 40km or so is identical as the race heads towards the Bergseweg climb, before the women's route continues further east and south.
It reaches Valkenburg and the Cauberg summit for the first time after around 70km, after which the women will complete three laps of the same finishing circuit as the men.
The race is the only major European spring classic to take place in the Netherlands.
Amstel Gold Race 2022 - riders to watch - top men
The men's race appears perfectly set up for Mathieu van der Poel, who will be entering on a high after winning the Tour of Flanders.
He will not have to deal with long-time rival van Aert, while it also seems likely that Tadej Pogacar, who pushed him all the way in Flanders before falling short in the sprint, will sit out of the Amstel Gold Race with an eye on the stage race summer.
Instead, his biggest challenges may come from Ineos' Tom Pidco*ck and Dylan van Baarle, the latter of whom is coming off a high from finishing second behind van der Poel last week.
Kasper Asgreen, whose charge to defend his Flanders title ended with a late mechanical, should not be counted out, nor should one-day specialists like John Degenkolb of Team DSM or Michael Valgren, the 2018 winner, racing for EF Education-Easypost.
Another former winner, Philippe Gilbert, is also in the field.
Amstel Gold Race 2022 - riders to watch - top women
The women's race looks to be, yet again, another tight tussle at the top between the Dutch riders, with a few others having the potential to disrupt things.
Defending champion and two-time Olympic gold medallist Vos (Jumbo-Visma) and 2018 winner Chantal van den Broek-Blaak (SD Worx), Trek-Segafredo's Ellen van Dijk, and Movistar Team's Annemiek van Vleuten are all in the mix.
Van den Broek-Blaak's teammate Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio, Trek's Elisa Longo Borhini, 2019 race winner Katarzyna Niewiadoma, and Movistar's Arlenis Sierra will all similarly have an eye on the win.
2022 Amstel Gold Race for men and Ladies Edition schedules
(All times local CEST, approximate after race start)
- 10:20am – Men's race begins, Maastricht
- 10:26am – Men's race official start
- 10:35am – Women's race begins, Maastricht
- 10:39am – Men's race first climb, Slingerberg
- 10:40am – Women's race official start
- 10:54am – Women's race first climb, Slingerberg
- 11:46am – Men's race first passage of Cauberg climb, Valkenburg
- 11:50am – Men's race first passage of finish line, Berg en Terblijt
- 12:33pm – Women's race first passage of Cauberg climb, Valkenburg
- 12:37pm – Women's race first passage of finish line, Berg en Terblijt
- 1:08pm – Women's race second passage of finish line, Berg en Terblijt
- 1:14pm – Men's race crosses into Belgium to climb Gemmenich
- 1:18pm – Men's race returns to the Netherlands
- 1:38pm – Women's race third passage of finish line, Berg en Terblijt
- 2:07pm – Women's race estimated finish
- 2:33pm – Men's race second passage of finish line
- 4:15pm – Men's race third passage of finish line
- 4:36pm – Men's race final climb, Bemelerberg
- 4:47pm – Men's race estimated finish
Last five winners of the Amstel Gold Race editions
Men's race
- 2016 – Enrico Gasparotto (ITA), Wanty-Groupe Gobert
- 2017 – Philippe Gilbert (BEL), Quick-Step Floors
- 2018 – Michael Valgren (DEN), Astana
- 2019 – Mathieu van der Poel (NED), Corendon-Circus
- 2021 – Wout van Aert (BEL), Jumbo-Visma
No race in 2020 due to the Covid pandemic
Women's race
- 2003 – Nicole Cooke (GBR), Pasta Zara-Cogeas
- 2017 – Anna van der Breggen (NED), Boels-Dolmans
- 2018 – Chantal Blaak (NED), Boels-Dolmans
- 2019 – Katarzyna Niewiadoma (POL), Canyon-SRAM
- 2021 – Marianne Vos (NED), Jumbo-Visma
Race did not run from 2004–2016. No race in 2020 due to the Covid pandemic.
How to watch Amstel Gold Race 2022 men's and ladies editions
The race will be available on live TV and streaming services, including Eurosport and Discovery+ in Europe, NBC Sports / Peaco*ck in the United States, and domestic television broadcasters in other countries. More information is on the UCI website here.
