Amstel Gold Race

Amstel Gold Race
Race details
Date Mid to late-April
Region Limburg, Netherlands
English name Amstel Gold Race
Local name(s) Amstel Gold Race (Dutch)
Discipline Road
Competition UCI World Tour
Type One-day
Organiser Amstel Gold Race Foundation
Race director Leo van Vliet
History
First edition 1966
Editions 50 (as of 2015)
First winner  Jean Stablinski (FRA)
Most wins  Jan Raas (NED) (5 times)
Most recent  Michał Kwiatkowski (POL)

The Amstel Gold Race is a road bicycle race held (mostly) in the southern part of the province of Limburg, Netherlands. Since 1989 it has been among the races included in season long rankings tables, as part of the UCI Road World Cup (1989–2004), the UCI ProTour (2005–2010), UCI World Ranking (2009–2010) and from 2011 the UCI World Tour. It is the most important road cycling event of the Netherlands.

The name does not directly refer to the river Amstel, which is far away from the course, but to the sponsor, the Amstel brewery.

History

The first race, on April 30, 1966, was organised by two Dutch sports promoters, Ton Vissers and Herman Krott, who together ran a company called Inter Sport.

Vissers was a house decorator and hockey player from Rotterdam whose break in cycling came in 1963 when a friend asked him to manage a minor team in the Tour of the Netherlands. Those who were there say he was as hopeless as his riders. Officials banished him after he did a U-turn and drove back towards the oncoming race after hearing that one of his riders had punctured. Three years later, in 1966, he became manager of the Willem II professional team that at one time included the classics winner, Rik van Looy of Belgium.

Krott's background in cycling was scarcely deeper. He ran a car-parts dealership called HeKro and, because he admired the Dutch rider Peter Post, worked as his personal assistant. He had also worked as a salesman for Amstel. Together, Krott and Vissers organised small races across the Netherlands. Krott also used his contacts at Amstel to start an Amstel professional team and then the sponsorship to run an international professional race bigger than the round-the-houses events Inter Sport had been promoting until then.

The first Amstel Gold Race was announced for April 30, 1966, the national day of the Netherlands. The plan was to start from Amsterdam and follow a 280 km loop round the east of the country before finishing in the south-east at Maastricht. There would be prizes of 10,000 guilders — about €5,000 - of which a fifth would go to the winner.

Things started going wrong from the beginning. Krott and Vissers had announced the start, the finish and the distance without taking into account the many rivers and the zigzags needed to cross them. The course would be far longer than 280 km. Further plans were made to start in Utrecht, then in Rotterdam. The finish was moved from Maastricht to the unknown village of Meerssen. Less than three weeks before the start, the organisers realised they had not obtained permission to cross the Moerdijk bridge, the only way out of Rotterdam to the south. The route had again to be redrawn and the start moved to Breda in the south.

The problems had not ended. Whatever the police thought of the constant changes they were asked to approve, they now had bigger concerns. The Provos, militant hippies, had declared the Netherlands a state of anarchy. At the other end of the social scale, Dutchmen were also protesting against the marriage of the queen's daughter, Beatrix, to a German, Claus von Amsberg. The police feared that a race organised on the royal family's big day would bring uprisings and possibly attacks.

On April 26, Vissers and Krott called off their race. But still there was a twist. A press conference to break the news had just started when the Dutch roads ministry in The Hague called to say the race could be run after all — provided it was never again scheduled for Koninginnedag.

The race was run, there were no serious protests, and the conditions set by the roads minister lost their significance. The Amstel Gold Race has never started in Amsterdam, Rotterdam or Utrecht and it never again started in Breda. The finish was moved to Maastricht from 1992 and after 1998 the race also started there.

Inter Sport ceased trading in 1970 and Herman Krott ran the race by himself until 1995. It was then taken over by the former professional Leo van Vliet.

Course

Steffen Wesemann on his way up the Eyserbosweg.

The course has changed many times over the years. In 2005 the race took place almost entirely within the boundaries of the province of Limburg, but there have also been editions that covered significant parts of Belgium. Before 2003 the finish used to be in Maastricht. From 2003 till 2012 the finish was at the top of the Cauberg hill, in the Valkenburg municipality. The final was redesigned for the 2013 edition and the finish was moved from the top of the Cauberg to Berg en Terblijt, 1,8 kilometers after the Cauberg. The new finish now mirrors the finish that was used for the 2012 UCI Road World Championships.[1]

The race is the Netherlands' largest professional race but is frequently criticised for the danger of its course. The Netherlands is a densely populated country and the race runs through many suburbs and villages. With pressure on land being so great, many Dutch houses do not have garages and cars are left parked in the street. There are also many traffic-calming obstacles such as pinches, chicanes and speed humps, and further obstacles such as roundabouts and traffic islands. Crashes are not uncommon in the race.

The course is tough and selective, mainly because of the 31 hills that have to be climbed, some with angles as steep as 20% (Keutenberg). The Amstel can be confusing for first time riders, because the course features a lot of turns, plus some spots are visited more than one time during the race.[2]

Attempting to explain the difficulty of the course Peter Easton recounts a mathematician's calculations:

...applying logic to overcome a sense of incomprehension is the key to understanding this race. And there is truth in numbers. Six of the climbs come in the first 92 kilometers — one every 15.2 kilometers. The remaining 25 come over the final 165 kilometers. That’s one every 6.6 kilometers. Breaking it down further, the final hour of racing has eight climbs in 42 kilometers. Now we’re down to one every 5.25 km. At 40 km/h, that’s one every 7 ½ minutes. Not overly funny, and definitely all business. [3]

The current hills (as of 2015) in the Amstel Gold Race are:[4]

Number Name Kilometer Location Length (in m) Average climb (%)
1 Slingerberg 9 Geulle 1200 5,4
2 Adsteeg 14 Beek 500 5,4
3 Lange Raarberg 22 Meerssen 1300 4,5
4 Bergseweg 38 Voerendaal 2700 3,3
5 Sibbergrubbe 50 Valkenburg 2100 4,1
6 Cauberg 54 Valkenburg 1200 5,8
7 Geulhemmerweg 59 Valkenburg 1000 6,2
8 Wolfsberg 78 Noorbeek 800 4,4
9 Loorberg 81 Slenaken 1500 5,5
10 Schweibergerweg 93 Gulpen 2900 3,9
11 Camerig 99 Vijlen 4300 3,8
12 Drielandenpunt 110 Vaals 3700 3,7
13 Gemmenich 114 Blieberg 900 6,4
14 Vijlenerbos 118 Vaals 1800 5,1
15 Eperheide 127 Epen 2300 4,1
16 Gulperberg 135 Gulpen 700 8,1
17 Plettenbergweg 142 Eys 1000 4,2
Number Name Kilometer Location Length (in m) Average climb (%)
18 Eyserweg 144 Eys 2200 4,3
19 Huls 148 Simpelveld 1000 7,7
20 Vrakelberg 154 Voerendaal 700 7,9
21 Sibbergrubbe 161 Valkenburg 2100 4,1
22 Cauberg 166 Valkenburg 1200 5,8
23 Geulhemmerweg 170 Valkenburg 1000 6,2
24 Bemelerberg 183 Bemelen 900 5,0
25 Loorberg 198 Slenaken 1500 5,5
26 Gulperberg 208 Gulpen 700 8,1
27 Kruisberg 217 Wahlwiller 800 7,5
28 Eyserbosweg 219 Eys 1100 8,1
29 Fromberg 222 Fromberg 1600 4,0
30 Keutenberg 227 Keutenberg 700 9,4
31 Cauberg 237 Valkenburg 1200 5,8
32 Geulhemmerweg 242 Valkenburg 1000 6,2
33 Bemelerberg 250 Bemelen 900 5,0
34 Cauberg 255 Valkenburg 1200 5,8

Winners

Rider Team
1966 France Stablinski, JeanJean Stablinski (FRA) Ford-Hutchinson
1967 Netherlands Hartog, Arie denArie den Hartog (NED) Bic-Hutchinson
1968 Netherlands Steevens, HarryHarry Steevens (NED) Willem II-Gazelle
1969 Belgium Reybrouck, GuidoGuido Reybrouck (BEL) Faema
1970 Belgium Pintens, GeorgesGeorges Pintens (BEL) Dr. Mann-Grundig
1971 Belgium Verbeeck, FransFrans Verbeeck (BEL) Watney-Avia
1972 Belgium Planckaert, WalterWalter Planckaert (BEL) Watney-Avia
1973 Belgium Merckx, EddyEddy Merckx (BEL) Molteni
1974 Netherlands Knetemann, GerrieGerrie Knetemann (NED) Gan-Mercier-Hutchinson
1975 Belgium Merckx, EddyEddy Merckx (BEL) Molteni
1976 Belgium Maertens, FreddyFreddy Maertens (BEL) Flandria-Velda
1977 Netherlands Raas, JanJan Raas (NED) Frisol-Gazelle-Thirion
1978 Netherlands Raas, JanJan Raas (NED) TI-Raleigh
1979 Netherlands Raas, JanJan Raas (NED) TI-Raleigh-McGregor
1980 Netherlands Raas, JanJan Raas (NED) TI-Raleigh-Creda
1981 France Hinault, BernardBernard Hinault (FRA) Renault-Elf-Gitane
1982 Netherlands Raas, JanJan Raas (NED) TI-Raleigh-Campagnolo
1983 Australia Anderson, PhilPhil Anderson (AUS) Peugeot-Shell-Michelin
1984 Netherlands Hanegraaf, JacquesJacques Hanegraaf (NED) Kwantum-Decosol-Yoko
1985 Netherlands Knetemann, GerrieGerrie Knetemann (NED) Skil-Sem-Kas-Miko
1986 Netherlands Rooks, StevenSteven Rooks (NED) PDM-Gin MG-Ultima-Concorde
1987 Netherlands Zoetemelk, JoopJoop Zoetemelk (NED) Superconfex-Kwantum-Yoko-Colnago
1988 Netherlands Nijdam, JelleJelle Nijdam (NED) Superconfex-Yoko-Opel-Colnago
1989 Belgium Lancker, Eric vanEric van Lancker (BEL) Panasonic-Isostar-Colnago-Agu
1990 Netherlands Poel, Adri van derAdri van der Poel (NED) Weinmann-SMM Uster-Merckx
1991 Netherlands Maassen, FransFrans Maassen (NED) Buckler-Colnago-Decca
1992 Germany Ludwig, OlafOlaf Ludwig (GER) Panasonic-Sportlife
1993 Switzerland Jarmann, RolfRolf Järmann (SUI) Ariostea
1994 Belgium Museeuw, JohanJohan Museeuw (BEL) GB-MG Maglificio-Bianchi
1995 Switzerland Gianetti, MauroMauro Gianetti (SUI) Polti-Vaporetto
1996 Italy Zanini, StefanoStefano Zanini (ITA) Gewiss Playbus
1997 Denmark Riis, BjarneBjarne Riis (DEN) Team Telekom
1998 Switzerland Jarmann, RolfRolf Järmann (SUI) Casino-Ag2r
1999 Netherlands Boogerd, MichaelMichael Boogerd (NED) Rabobank
2000 Germany Zabel, ErikErik Zabel (GER) Team Telekom
2001 Netherlands Dekker, ErikErik Dekker (NED) Rabobank
2002 Italy Bartoli, MicheleMichele Bartoli (ITA) Fassa Bortolo
2003 Kazakhstan Vinokourov, AlexandreAlexandre Vinokourov (KAZ) Team Telekom
2004 Italy Rebellin, DavideDavide Rebellin (ITA) Gerolsteiner
2005 Italy Di Luca, DaniloDanilo Di Luca (ITA) Liquigas-Bianchi
2006 Luxembourg Schleck, FrankFränk Schleck (LUX) Team CSC
2007 Germany Schumacher, StefanStefan Schumacher (GER) Gerolsteiner
2008 Italy Cunego, DamianoDamiano Cunego (ITA) Lampre
2009 Russia Ivanov, SergueiSerguei Ivanov (RUS) Team Katusha
2010 Belgium Gilbert, PhilippePhilippe Gilbert (BEL) Omega Pharma-Lotto
2011 Belgium Gilbert, PhilippePhilippe Gilbert (BEL) Omega Pharma-Lotto
2012 Italy Gasparotto, EnricoEnrico Gasparotto (ITA) Astana
2013 Czech Republic Kreuziger, RomanRoman Kreuziger (CZE) Saxo-Tinkoff
2014 Belgium Gilbert, PhilippePhilippe Gilbert (BEL) BMC Racing Team
2015 Poland Kwiatkowski, MichałMichał Kwiatkowski (POL) Etixx-Quick Step

By riders

Cyclist Total Years
 Raas, JanJan Raas (NED) 5 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982
 Gilbert, PhilippePhilippe Gilbert (BEL) 3 2010, 2011, 2014
 Merckx, EddyEddy Merckx (BEL) 2 1973, 1975
 Knetemann, GerrieGerrie Knetemann (NED) 2 1974, 1985
 Järmann, RolfRolf Järmann (SUI) 2 1993, 1998

By country

# Country Wins
1.  Netherlands 17
2.  Belgium 12
3.  Italy 6
4.   Switzerland 3
 Germany 3
6.  France 2
7.  Denmark 1
 Australia 1
 Czech Republic 1
 Kazakhstan 1
 Luxembourg 1
 Poland 1
 Russia 1

References

  1. Finish Amstel Gold Race niet op Cauberg
  2. "Spring Classics: How to win cycling's hardest one-day races". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  3. Easton, Peter. "Amstel '10 Preview: Double Dutch Does the Trick," PezCyclingNews, April 16, 2010. http://pezcyclingnews.com/?pg=fullstory&id=8159&status=True&catname=Latest%20News

External links

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