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 a one-day classic road cycling race held annualy since 1966 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 former professional road bicycle racer, who 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 Ardennes classics are three cycling classics held in mid-April in the Belgian Ardennes and southern Limburg in the Netherlands: Liège–Bastogne–Liège, La Flèche Wallonne and Amstel Gold Race. First held in 1892, 1936 and 1966 respectively, the races are notable for their hilly courses, and often have similar riders competing for the top positions as the races are held closely following each other. Cyclists that are specialized in these hilly courses are known as puncheurs. In recent years, the three classics have been held within an 8-day timeframe.
Anna van der Breggen is a Dutch former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2009 and 2021 for Team Flexpoint, Sengers Ladies Cycling Team, Rabo–Liv and SD Worx. She won the gold medal in the women's road race at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, and has won the Giro d'Italia Femminile on four occasions. In 2018 and 2020, she won the women's road race at the UCI Road World Championships.
Katarzyna "Kasia" Niewiadoma is a Polish racing cyclist, who rides for UCI Women's WorldTeam Canyon–SRAM. Among her eighteen professional wins are the Amstel Gold Race in 2019, the Trofeo Alfredo Binda-Comune di Cittiglio in 2018, and The Women's Tour stage race in 2017. She is a former national champion in both the Polish National Road Race Championships and the Polish National Time Trial Championships, winning both in 2016.
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 Liège–Bastogne–Liège was a one-day cycling classic that took place in the Belgian Ardennes on 26 April 2015. It was the 101st edition of the Liège–Bastogne–Liège one-day cycling race and was the fourth cycling monument of the 2015 season. It was part of the 2015 UCI World Tour and was organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), the organisers of the Tour de France.
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 2017 UCI Women's World Tour was the second edition of the UCI Women's World Tour. For the 2017 season, the calendar consisted of 20 races, up from 17 in 2016. Two one-day races – the Amstel Gold Race and Liège–Bastogne–Liège, to complete an Ardennes classics week – were added along with the Ladies Tour of Norway and the Holland Ladies Tour; all 2016 races returned for the 2017 calendar, with the exception of the cancelled Philadelphia International Cycling Classic.
2017 in women's road cycling is about the 2017 women's bicycle races ruled by the UCI and the 2017 UCI Women's Teams.
Liège–Bastogne–Liège Femmes is the women's event of Liège–Bastogne–Liège, an annual road bicycle racing event in Wallonia, Belgium, held in late April. The inaugural race, won by Olympic champion Anna van der Breggen, was run on 23 April 2017.
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 second edition of Liège–Bastogne–Liège Femmes, a road cycling one-day race in Belgium, was held on 22 April 2018. It was the ninth event of the 2018 UCI Women's World Tour. The race started in Bastogne and finished in Ans, containing four categorized climbs, covering a total distance of 135.5 km.
The first edition of Liège–Bastogne–Liège Femmes, a road cycling one-day race in Belgium, was held on 23 April 2017. It was the eighth event of the 2017 UCI Women's World Tour. The race started in Bastogne and finished in Ans, containing four categorized climbs and covering a total distance of 135.5 km. 139 riders started the race, 98 finished.
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.
Adriana Geertruida "Demi" Vollering is a Dutch professional racing cyclist who rides for UCI Women's WorldTeam SD Worx.
The sixth edition of the Amstel Gold Race for Women was a road cycling one-day race held on 21 April 2019 in the Netherlands. It was the seventh event of the 2019 UCI Women's World Tour. The race started in Maastricht and finished in Berg en Terblijt, containing 19 categorised climbs and covering a total distance of 127 km. It was won by Katarzyna Niewiadoma.
The 2023 Liège–Bastogne–Liège Femmes was a Belgian road cycling one-day race that took place on 23 April 2022. It was the 7th edition of Liège–Bastogne–Liège Femmes and the 14th event of the 2023 UCI Women's World Tour. The race was won for the second time by Dutch rider Demi Vollering of SD Worx, who won the triple crown of the Ardennes classics.
