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.
25.04 - 01.05: Le Tour de Bretagne Cycliste |
01.05: Cyclis Classic |
01.05: Omloop van het Waasland |
01.05: Eschborn-Frankfurt |
01.05: GP Vorarlberg |
01.05: Eschborn-Frankfurt U23 |
03.05: La Classique Morbihan |
01.05 - 04.05: La Coupe du President de la Vi... |
04.05: Liège-Bastogne-Liège Junior |
04.05: GP Eco-Struct |
Nara MOTOI 42 years | today |
Christoph JANSSEN 24 years | today |
José Adrian BONILLA BONILLA 46 years | today |
Ruslan HASANOV 29 years | today |
Ariel MOYATA FLORES 22 years | today |
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