The cobbled Classics are done, the Ardennes are to come, and the riders are parched: it’s Amstel Gold Race for both men and women on Sunday 14th April. Named because of its sponsorship by beer company Amstel, its winners are rewarded a glass (sometimes massive, sometimes small) of Amstel to celebrate.
Taking riders through the Dutch Limburg region, with riders heading out from Maastricht and circling to the nearby Valkenburg, Amstel Gold seeks out the Netherlands’ biggest climbs to get the riders in the mood for the hilly Belgian races to come at La Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège with the headline hill being the Cauberg — a deceiving 1.2km climb at an average gradient of 5.8%.
The tough Dutch profile offers the perfect battleground for both the peloton’s best climbers and Classics riders as they gear up for the Ardennes tests in the weeks to come. The men’s reigning champion, Tadej Pogačar, does not have Amstel Gold scheduled into his 2024 programme, but World Champion Mathieu van der Poel will make a welcome return to the race he won in heroic fashion back in 2019. On the women’s side, Demi Vollering, the defending champion, will be on the start line alongside a field of stiff opposition including the evergreen Marianne Vos of Visma-Lease a Bike.
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Amstel Gold Race: Key information
- Date: Sunday 14th April
- Start: Maastricht, Netherlands
- Finish: Valkenburg, Netherlands
- Distance: 253.6km (men’s); 157.8km (women’s)
- Live TV coverage: Eurosport, Discovery+
- Previous winners: Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates); Demi Vollering (Team SD Worx)
- Most wins: Jan Raas (five); Debby Mansveld, Leontien Zijlaard-van Moorsel, Nicole Cooke, Anna van der Breggen, Chantal van den Broek-Blaak, Kasia Niewiadoma, Marianne Vos, Marta Cavalli, Demi Vollering (one)
Amstel Gold Race 2024 routes and profiles
Women’s parcours
The women’s race has increased by a couple of kilometres for 2024, taking the total race length up to 157.8km. The finishing loop will be tackled on three occasions, taking the peloton up Amstel Gold favourites such as the Cauberg, Bemmelerberg and Geulhemmerberg. The approach to the line will be familiar with the final climb of the Cauberg coming at 1.8km to go.
That brings the total climbing to 1,724m.
Men’s parcours
The men’s spaghetti-style route remains unchanged from the course tackled last year. Over four laps, the peloton will enjoy a feast of characteristically short kickers. For the men, the final approach to the line will take the riders on a shorter loop around Valkenburg, avoiding the iconic Cauberg.
That means it’s 253.6km in total with 3,266m of climbing.
Amstel Gold Race 2024: How to watch on TV and streaming
The Amstel Gold 2024 races will be available to watch in the UK on Eurosport and Discovery+ for £6.99 per month with the basic package, which includes cycling and all other Eurosport programmes. It will also be shown on the TV channel Eurosport 1 in the UK.
If it’s not being shown in your country, you may be able to watch coverage using a VPN – Virtual Private Network – which allows users to mask their IP address and watch geo-blocked content, provided they don’t need to pay for a subscription. This is also helpful for watching paid-for coverage while travelling abroad in countries without access.
One such example is ExpressVPN, which is very well reviewed, helps users to find way to watch cycling without having to pay for broadcasters services, and costs £5.36 per month, with three months free. Other options include NordVPN, Surfshark and Kapersky.
Live TV and streaming times
All times BST and subject to change by broadcasters.
Women's
Eurosport 1: 12:00-13:30
Discovery+: 12:00-13:35
Men's
Eurosport 1: 13:35-16:00
Discovery+: 13:35-16:15
Amstel Gold Race teams and line-ups
Women's provisional start list
Data powered by FirstCycling.com
Men's provisional start list
Data powered by FirstCycling.com
Amstel Gold Race previous winners
2023: Tadej Pogačar, Demi Vollering
2022: Michał Kwiatkowski, Marta Cavalli
2021: Wout van Aert (Tom Pidcock); Marianne Vos
2020: No race
2019: Mathieu van der Poel; Kasia Niewiadoma
2018: Michael Valgren; Chantal van den Broek-Blaak
2017: Philippe Gilbert; Anna van der Breggen
2016: Enrico Gasparotto
2015: Michał Kwiatkowski
2014: Philippe Gilbert
2013: Roman Kreuziger
2012: Enrico Gasparotto
2011: Philippe Gilbert
2010: Philippe Gilbert
2009: Sergei Ivanov
2008: Damiano Cunego
2007: Stefan Schumacher
2006: Fränk Schleck
2005: Danilo Di Luca
2004: Davide Rebellin
2003: Alexandre Vinokourov; Nicole Cooke
2002: Michele Bartoli; Leontien Zijlaard-van Moorsel
2001: Erik Dekker; Debby Mansveld
2000: Erik Zabel
1999: Michael Boogerd
1998: Rolf Järmann
1997: Bjarne Riis
1996: Stefano Zanini
1995: Mauro Gianetti
1994: Johan Museeuw
1993: Rolf Järmann
1992: Olaf Ludwig
1991: Frans Maassen
1990: Adrie van der Poel
1989: Eric Van Lancker
1988: Jelle Nijdam
1987: Joop Zoetemelk
1986: Steven Rooks
1985: Gerrie Knetemann
1984: Jacques Hanegraaf
1983: Phil Anderson
1982: Jan Raas
1981: Bernard Hinault
1980: Jan Raas
1979: Jan Raas
1978: Jan Raas
1977: Jan Raas
1976: Freddy Maertens
1975: Eddy Merckx
1974: Gerrie Knetemann
1973: Eddy Merckx
1972: Walter Planckaert
1971: Frans Verbeeck
1970: Georges Pintens
1969: Guido Reybrouck
1968: Harry Steevens
1967: Arie den Hartog
1966: Jean Stablinski
