Liège–Bastogne–Liège, also known as La Doyenne, is a one-day classic cycling race in Belgium. First run in 1892, it is the oldest of the five Monuments of the European professional road cycling calendar; usually coming as the last of the spring classics. It is held annually in late April, in the Ardennes region of Belgium, from Liège to Bastogne and back.
The Amstel Gold Race is an annual one-day classic road cycling race held in the province of Limburg, Netherlands. It traditionally marks the turning point of the spring classics, with the climbers and stage racers replacing the cobbled classics riders as the favourites.
Philippe Gilbert is a Belgian professional road bicycle racer, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Lotto–Soudal. Gilbert is best known for winning the World Road Race Championships in 2012, and for being one of two riders, along with Davide Rebellin, to have won the three Ardennes classics – the Amstel Gold Race, La Flèche Wallonne and Liège–Bastogne–Liège – in a single season, which he accomplished in 2011. Gilbert also finished the 2011 season as the overall winner of the UCI World Tour.
The Cauberg is a hill in Valkenburg aan de Geul, a town in the South Limburg region of the Netherlands. The hill played an important role in the early development of tourism in Valkenburg. Today, several major tourist attractions are situated on or nearby Cauberg. The hill's fame is mainly due to the many cycling races and championships that were held here. The length of the climb is around 1,200 metres (0.7 mi), with a maximum grade of 12%.
Greg Van Avermaet is a Belgian professional cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam AG2R Citroën Team. Considered one of the most versatile riders of modern cycling, Van Avermaet is a specialist of the classic cycle races, but has also won stages and the general classification in stage races, particularly when run on a hilly terrain, such as the 2016 Tirreno–Adriatico, and the 2018 Tour de Yorkshire. His strong sprint finish enables him to win sprints of small lead groups, but he has also won races after solo breakaways.
Roman Kreuziger is a Czech former professional road bicycle racer, who last rode for UCI ProTeam Gazprom–RusVelo. His father, Roman Kreuziger Sr., was also a bicycle racer who won the Tour of Austria in 1991 and the Cyclocross Junior World Championships in 1983.
Michał Kwiatkowski is a Polish professional road bicycle racer, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Ineos Grenadiers.
The 2011 Amstel Gold Race was the 46th running of the Amstel Gold Race, a single-day cycling race. It was held on 17 April 2011 over a distance of 260.4 kilometres and was the tenth race of the 2011 UCI World Tour season.
The 2012 Amstel Gold Race was the 47th running of the Amstel Gold Race, a single-day cycling race. It was held on 15 April 2012 over a distance of 256.5 kilometres and was the eleventh race of the 2012 UCI World Tour season.
The 2012 Eneco Tour was the eighth running of the Eneco Tour cycling stage race. It started on August 6 in Waalwijk in the Netherlands and ended on August 12 in Geraardsbergen, Belgium, after seven stages. It was the 20th race of the 2012 UCI World Tour season.
The Men's time trial of the 2012 UCI Road World Championships cycling event took place on 19 September 2012 in Limburg, Netherlands.
The Women's road race of the 2012 UCI Road World Championships cycling event took place on 22 September in the province of Limburg, Netherlands.
The Women's team time trial of the 2012 UCI Road World Championships cycling event took place on 16 September 2012 in the province of Limburg, Netherlands.
The 2015 Amstel Gold Race was the 50th edition of the Amstel Gold Race one-day race. It took place on 19 April and was the eleventh race of the 2015 UCI World Tour. The Amstel Gold Race formed part of the Ardennes classics season, although it took place in the Limburg region of the Netherlands rather than in the Belgian Ardennes. It took place in the week before La Flèche Wallonne and Liège–Bastogne–Liège, the other principal Ardennes classics. The defending champion in the 2015 edition of the race was Philippe Gilbert, who had won the race three times and had also won the 2012 world championships on a very similar course.
The 2015 Eneco Tour was a road cycling stage race that took place in the Netherlands and Belgium between 10 and 16 August 2015. It was the 11th edition of the Eneco Tour stage race and was the twenty-first race of the 2015 UCI World Tour.
The 2016 Amstel Gold Race was a one-day classic cycling race that took place in the Limburg region of the Netherlands on 17 April 2016. It was the 51st edition of the Amstel Gold Race and the eleventh event of the 2016 UCI World Tour. It was also the first of the Ardennes classics, although it is technically not in the Ardennes region. The race took place over a 258-kilometre (160 mi) route that starts in Maastricht and ends in Berg en Terblijt on the outskirts of Valkenburg. The key difficulty in the race came from the 34 short but steep climbs. The central climb, the Cauberg, was crossed four times, with 1.8 kilometres (1.1 mi) between the final summit and the finish line. The favourites for victory in the race included the three-time winner Philippe Gilbert (BMC), the defending champion Michał Kwiatkowski (Sky), and Simon Gerrans and Michael Matthews.
The 2018 Amstel Gold Race was a road cycling one-day race that took place on 15 April 2018 in the Netherlands. It was the 53rd edition of the Amstel Gold Race and the sixteenth event of the 2018 UCI World Tour. The race started in Maastricht and finished in Berg en Terblijt, containing 35 categorised climbs, covering a total distance of 263 kilometres.
The fifth edition of the Amstel Gold Race for Women was a road cycling one-day race held on 15 April 2018 in the Netherlands. It was the seventh event of the 2018 UCI Women's World Tour. The race started in Maastricht and finished in Berg en Terblijt, containing 17 categorized climbs and covering a total distance of 116.9 km.
The fourth edition of the Amstel Gold Race for Women was a road cycling one-day race held on 16 April 2017 in the Netherlands. It was the sixth event of the 2017 UCI Women's World Tour. The race started in Maastricht and finished in Berg en Terblijt, containing 17 categorized climbs, covering a total distance of 121.6 km. It was won by Dutch rider Anna van der Breggen.
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. 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.
