Roman Kreuziger is ready to defend his Amstel Gold Race title as he has been selected as Tinkoff-Saxo leader for the Dutch classic. The Czech will be able to count on the valuable experience of veterans Karsten Kroon and Nicki Sørensen in his quest to make it two in a row in the Limburg province.

On Sunday, it’s time to launch the second half of the spring classic campaign moving from the French / Belgian cobblestones to the undulating terrain in Belgium and southern Holland. The 251 km long Dutch race, Amstel Gold Race starting in Maastricht and finish in Valkenburg has been on the calendar since 1966 and although a Dutchman often has been at the top of the podium when the race is done, no obvious home turf advantage has been obvious in recent time.

The route offers no less than 33 steep climbs and with inspiration from last year’s world championships, the organizers have chosen to move the finish line approximately two km after the Cauberg climb which will be passed three times in the finale. Cauberg is 800 meters long but with an average gradient of 12 % and after 250 kilometers of hard racing, the climb will seem endless.

Last year Roman Kreuziger went solo and powered to the finish line taking the win and naturally, he is agan the Tinkoff-Saxo candidate to win the race.