Amstel Gold (Part 1)
The Amstel Gold Race was created in 1966 to give the Netherlands a classic to rival the great Monuments, and its first edition went anything but to plan. Its founders, Ton Vissers and Herman Krott, found a sponsor in the Amstel brewery, which has backed the race ever since. They meant to run it from Amsterdam to Maastricht, but route problems moved the start to Breda and the finish to Meerssen. Detours around holiday festivities in the towns along the way then stretched it to 302 km, still the longest edition. Only 30 of the 120 starters reached the line, led home by Jean Stablinski of France. Maastricht, the finish the founders had wanted, finally got the race in 1991 and kept it until 2002.
This ride runs from Valkenburg west around the edge of Maastricht and back east to Cadier en Keer. It starts below Valkenburg’s castle, the only castle in the Netherlands built on a hill; it was first fortified in 1115. Over the first rise lies Berg en Terblijt, where the race now finishes, on the main road between Berg and Vilt. After skirting Maastricht, the ride turns back east to Bemelen, at the foot of the Bemelerberg, which became the race’s final climb in 2017. From there it climbs over ’t Rooth to finish at Cadier en Keer.
Region: Limburg
City: Valkenburg
Distance: 23.19 km
Elevation Gain: 341 m
Elevation Loss: 273 m
Difficulty: 256 (Easy)
FIETS Index: 0.1 FIETS
Avg Grade: 1.08 %
Max cat climb: 4
Min elevation: 57 m
Max elevation: 146 m
Ride Category: Hilly