The Ardennes Classics begin with the demanding and undulating Amstel Gold Race, the biggest one-day race on the Dutch cycling calendar.
The first of three Classics in the space of a week, the race sets the ball rolling before the riders head for La Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
Based in the Limburg region, the 258-kilometre parcours retains a similar feel, with the newly established run-in seeing the finish line set back 1.8km from the top of the infamous Cauberg climb.
The route boasts 34 climbs and criss-crosses the hills to the east of Maastricht. Narrow, twisting roads place a premium on being up towards the head of the peloton, particularly ahead of the last of four ascents of the Cauberg, which is often a decisive factor in the race.
WorldTour points will make this race fiercely contested, with high speeds often leading to bottlenecks and crashes in one of the most spectacular one-day events of the year.
Team Sky head to Holland with a strong eight-man line-up. Sergio Henao is back in action following his second place at the Vuelta al Pais Vasco, while Pete Kennaugh makes a welcome return from injury. Philip Deignan, Nathan Earle, Vasil Kiryienka, Lars Petter Nordhaug, Wout Poels and Xabier Zandio round out the squad.
20.05: GP Mazda SCHELKENS |
20.05: Paris - Troyes |
20.05: Ronde van Limburg |
12.05 - 21.05: Tour d'Algérie |
22.05: GP de la Ville d'Annaba |
20.05 - 24.05: Cycling Tour of Albania |
24.05: GP de la Ville d'Alger |
23.05 - 25.05: Tour of Estonia |
25.05: Due Giorni Marchigiana |
25.05: ZLM Omloop der Kempen |
Nako GEORGIEV 29 years | today |
Iúri JORGE 33 years | today |
Marco GHISELLI 42 years | today |
Luis JUNQUERA SAN MILLAN 30 years | today |
Geerike SCHREURS 35 years | today |
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