Visit Holland - The Netherlands
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.
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 will mirror 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.
TracK- Parcour Amstel Gold ace 2013 by Velowire:
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