The Ardennes Classics kick off this weekend at Amstel Gold Race, the World Tour event where our team has tasted victory on two occasions. The 60th edition of the race heads out from Maastricht and takes the peloton through the Limburg region, over a demanding 257.2km course featuring a whooping 33 hills that come thick and fast and more than 3400 vertical meters.
The route - unchanged from last year - is an up and down one the entire day, favouring the punchy riders and the attackers, especially as many will try to make a potentially decisive move before the last climb. The mythical Cauberg (900 meters, 7%), where the 2012 World Championships were decided, will serve as the final ascent of the day for the second year in a row, and positioning will be key there the last time the peloton tackles it, inside the closing kilometers of the race. From its top, only 1700 flattish meters separate the riders from the line.
