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.