Amstel Gold Race (women's race)
 | |
| Race details | |
|---|---|
| Date | Mid April |
| Region | Limburg (Netherlands), Netherlands |
| Discipline | Road |
| Competition | UCI Women's World Tour (since 2017) |
| Type | One-day race, Ardennes classic |
| Organiser | Stichting Amstel Gold Race, Flanders Classics (from 2025) |
| Web site | www |
| History | |
| First edition | 2001 |
| Editions | 10 (as of 2024) |
| First winner |  Debby Mansveld (NED) |
| Most wins | Marianne Vos (NED) (2 wins) |
| Most recent | Marianne Vos (NED) |
The Women's Amstel Gold Race is the women's event of the Amstel Gold Race, the most important annual road cycling event in the Netherlands. Held in mid-April, it is organized on the same day as the men's race at approximately half the distance.[1] Like the men's event, the race starts in Maastricht and finishes in Berg en Terblijt, Valkenburg. It features 17 categorized climbs, including four ascents of the Cauberg.[2][3]
The race forms one of the three Ardennes classics for the professional women's peloton - along with the Belgian La Flèche Wallonne Féminine and Liège–Bastogne–Liège Femmes.
History
[edit]Pioneering years
[edit]From 2001 to 2003, three editions of the Amstel Gold Race for elite women were held. In 2003, it was part of the UCI Women's Road World Cup.[4] The race started in Maastricht 30 minutes after the men's. It was run over 114 km, taking in nine climbs and similarly finishing on top of the Cauberg.[5] The race was discontinued after the third edition, because organization on the same day and on largely the same roads as the men's race was considered too difficult on the irregular circuits.
Holland Hills Classic
[edit]During the discontinuation of the Amstel Gold race for women, another women's elite professional cycling race, the Holland Hills Classic, was held in Limburg. The first years the race was held in August,[6] before moving to the spring in 2011. It had a similar route as the Amstel Gold Race and, likewise, finished in Berg en Terblijt, Valkenburg.[7] It was organized by the Stichting Holland Ladies Tour, which also organizes the Holland Ladies Tour. The race was a 1.1 UCI event and was discontinued after the 2016 edition when it became apparent there would be a rebooted Amstel Gold Race in 2017.[8] Marianne Vos won the event three times in 2007, 2009 and 2011.
Reboot of race
[edit]The Amstel Gold Race was rebooted in 2017 after a 14-year hiatus, with the race part of the UCI Women's World Tour. Olympic road race champion Anna van der Breggen won the 2017 edition with an attack at 8 km from the finish.[9] Chantal Blaak won the 2018 race as ruling world champion.[10] The 2021 edition was won by Marianne Vos, who had won the Holland Hills Classic three times. Demi Vollering won the 2023 edition, before winning the other two Ardennes classics in the same year.
Winners
[edit]| Year | Country | Rider | Team | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Netherlands
|
Debby Mansveld | Vlaanderen–T-Interim | |
| 2002 | Netherlands
|
Leontien van Moorsel | Farm Frites–Hartol | |
| 2003 |  Great Britain
|
Nicole Cooke | Ausra Gruodis-Safi | |
| 2004–2016 | No race | |||
| 2017 | Netherlands
|
Anna van der Breggen | Boels–Dolmans | |
| 2018 | Netherlands
|
Chantal Blaak | Boels–Dolmans | |
| 2019 |  Poland
|
Katarzyna Niewiadoma | Canyon–SRAM | |
| 2020 | No race due to COVID-19 pandemic | |||
| 2021 | Netherlands
|
Marianne Vos | Team Jumbo–Visma | |
| 2022 |  Italy
|
Marta Cavalli | FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope | |
| 2023 | Netherlands
|
Demi Vollering | SD Worx | |
| 2024 | Netherlands
|
Marianne Vos | Visma–Lease a Bike | |
Multiple winners
[edit]Riders in italics are still active.
| Wins | Rider | Editions |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Marianne Vos (NED) |
2021, 2024 |
Wins per country
[edit]| Wins | Country |
|---|---|
| 7 | Netherlands
|
| 1 | Italy, Poland, United Kingdom
|
References
[edit]- ^ "UCI unveils 2017 Women's WorldTour". VeloNews. 15 October 2016. Archived from the original on 19 October 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
- ^ "Amstel Gold adds women's event with Cauberg finale". Archived from the original on 4 October 2016. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
- ^ O'Shea, Sadhbh. "Amstel Gold Race Women – Preview". Cyclingnews. Immediate Media Company. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
- ^ Jones, Jeff. "38th Amstel Gold Race – World Cup status for women's Amstel". CyclingNews. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- ^ Jones, Jeff. "38th Amstel Gold Race – CDM. Nicole Cooke holds off charging peloton". CyclingNews. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- ^ "Gulpen Hills Classic". Gulpen-Wittem.nl. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
- ^ "Emma Johansson wins Boels Rental Hills Classic 2014". Cyclingfever.com. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
- ^ "Boels trekt stekker uit Hills Classic" (in Dutch). 1Limburg.nl. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
- ^ Braverman, Jessi. "Van der Breggen wins women's Amstel Gold Race". Cyclingnews. Immediate Media Company. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
- ^ "Chantal Blaak wins women's Amstel Gold Race". Cyclingnews. Immediate Media Company. Retrieved 15 April 2018.