Preview Amstel Gold Race 2023 – men | Pogacar against the eclectic mix in the hills of Limburg
PreviewsFriday, 17 October 2025 at 00:13
It's time yet again for the biggest Dutch cycling race of the year: the Amstel Gold Race. In recent years, it has been a spectacle, but is this a guarantee for the near future? In this particular case, it probably is – so let In de Leiderstrui tell you all about it!
Will we
get another nail-biter, like the last three editions? Organizer Leo van Vliet
will probably be hoping so. In 2019, Mathieu van der Poel managed to write
cycling history with a phenomenal comeback race, and in both 2021 and 2022, the
Amstel Gold Race was decided with a photo finish that was inconclusive to the
naked eye. Wout van Aert and Michal Kwiatkowski were the lucky ones, Tom
Pidcock and Benoit Cosnefroy the disadvantaged ones.
But
even during prior years, there was always a story surrounding the Amstel Gold
Race. What about four-time winner Philippe Gilbert, always at his best on the
Cauberg? Or Enrico Gasparotto’s 2016 victory, a mere few weeks following the
death of teammate Antoine Demoité? All of these stories contribute to the Amstel
Gold Race becoming the classic that it currently is.
Practical information Amstel Gold Race 2023 – men
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In this
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Most recent winners Amstel Gold Race
2022 Michal
Kwiatkowski
2021 Wout van Aert
2020 Not
held
2019 Mathieu van der Poel
2018 Michael Valgren
2017 Philippe Gilbert
2016 Enrico Gasparotto
2015 Michal Kwiatkowski
2014 Philippe Gilbert
2013 Roman Kreuziger
Amstel Gold Race 2023: Course, weather and times
"It was a big puzzle to
put together, but we are proud that it worked out," said race director Leo
van Vliet. "Of course, we have to ensure that both races don't cross
paths, but we also have to take into account things like the number of passages
in Valkenburg and the live TV broadcast. As a result, this year the women will
start earlier than the men – for the first time. Additionally, the men will make
an extra loop towards Sittard-Geleen and the first passage of the Cauberg will
be eliminated. The finale of the Amstel Gold Race remains the same," he
added.
The
organization has opted for three loops, one that even goes all the way to Belgium,
followed by the popular loop in Limburg along all the well-known (and mostly
steep) climbs, and finally the finale loop, in which the Geulhemmerberg and
Bemelerberg are the only two obstacles.
The race can, however, break
open much earlier than during the finale loop. With no less than 33 (!) climbs,
it’s a matter of keeping an eye out all day long and popular climbs such as the
Eyserbosweg, Keutenberg, and Cauberg are all packed into the last 45
kilometers. The finish no longer being located on the Cauberg has been the case
for a number of years now. The finish line is in Berg en Terblijt, making the
Bemelerberg a decisive climb towards a final kilometer that has in the past more
than once resulted in a sprint between a few remaining top riders.
Climbs
(Thanks to Bicycling)
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Weather
Sunday is forecasted to have nice weather in South Limburg. In the city of
Maastricht, where the start is, and its surroundings, it will be 13 to 14
degrees Celsius on Sunday, which qualifies as fine racing weather.
Timing
Start: 10.50 am
Finish: 05.00 pm
Favorites Amstel Gold Race 2023 - men
Well,
whichever race has Tadej Pogacar at the start line… usually only has one real
favorite. Add to that the absence of the men who did manage to beat him this
spring, Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert, and you can say without a doubt
he is the absolute top favorite for this Amstel Gold Race. Matteo Trentin, Marc
Hirschi and Felix Grossschartner appear to be the Slovenian powerhouse’s main
helpers.
On paper, Tom Pidcock is seen as Pogacar’s main opponent, as he came very
close to winning the Amstel Gold Race two years ago. After his victory in
Strade Bianche, a concussion suffered during the Tirreno-Adriatico caused some
setbacks, but he is back among the top favorites for the Amstel. INEOS
Grenadiers already faced some setbacks this spring, which has resulted in
two-time winner Michal Kwiatkowski and Magnus Sheffield not being in the best shape
anymore.
Jumbo-Visma was
the standout team this spring and is relying on Tiesj Benoot and Attila
Valter for the Amstel Gold Race. During the Strade Bianche, both riders
demonstrated that they have the physical ability to dig deep, but that they
needed to coordinate better tactically. The Amstel Gold Race seems like a great
opportunity for them to demonstrate improvements in that area.
It seems that AG2R Citroën Team
has started the hilly part of the spring season on a good note. Dorian Godon surprisingly won
the Brabantse Pijl, where the intended team leader Benoit Cosnefroy was able to secure the third place. As a result of
this performance, both men are steadily rising in the polls for the Gold Race.
Groupama-FDJ and Cofidis are two
other strong teams with a number of good men. The former team even has two
potential winners in David Gaudu
and Valentin Madouas, but Kevin
Geniets, Quentin Pacher, Rudy Molard, and Romain
Gregoire can also contend for great results. Looking at Axel Zingle and
Bryan Coquard, Cofidis has two men who are also difficult to break away from in
the finale.
For the
Amstel Gold Race, it is also standard practice to look for strong blocks with
some fresh new guys after the Flemish spring classics. Take EF Education-EasyPost,
for example, which has three outsiders in Neilson
Powless, Mikkel Honoré and
Richard Carapaz. The same goes for BORA-hansgrohe, which is bringing Ide Schelling and Sergio Higuita from the Basque
Country.
Soudal Quick-Step will have to
do without Julian Alaphilippe, but still has Mauro Schmid, Andrea Bagioli and Rémi Cavagna as strong contenders.
Lotto-Dstny, the third Belgian team, hopes for a standout performance by Pascal Eenkhoorn or Andreas Kron. Maxim
Van Gils could also be a strong contender, but he is returning after an
illness.
Intermarché-Circus-Wanty is
counting on Rui Costa, Lorenzo Rota
and Kobe Goossens for the Amstel, whereas Trek-Segafredo seems to still have
some question marks surrounding Bauke Mollema and Quinn Simmons. Mattias Skjelmose appears to be their
best option. Bahrain Victorious is fielding Matej Mohoric and Pello
Bilbao, two riders who recently encountered crashes and illnesses, which
seems to put their chances somewhat at jeopardy.
A surprisingly strong team
across the board is Israel-Premier Tech, which has Dylan Teuns, Michael Woods, Corbin
Strong, Simon Clarke, Daryl Impey, and Krists Neilands, all men who have
already demonstrated their abilities on these courses. However, we still
consider them as fine outsiders, just like lone riders such as Warren Barguil (Arkéa Samsic), Alexey Lutsenko (Astana), Alexander Kamp (Tudor), Matteo Sobrero (Jayco AlUla) and Alex Aranburu (Movistar).
Who are In de Leiderstrui’s favorites for the Amstel Gold Race?
Top
favorite: Tadej Pogacar (UAE-Team Emirates)
Outsiders: Tom Pidcock (INEOS Grenadiers), Benoit Cosnefroy (AG2R
Citroën Team), Tiesj Benoot (Jumbo-Visma), David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) and
Sergio Higuita (BORA-hansgrohe)
Longshots: Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost), Mattias Skjelmose
(Trek-Segafredo), Ide Schelling (BORA-hansgrohe), Matteo Sobrero (Jayco-AlUla),
Alex Aranburu (Movistar), Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ), Dorian Godon (AG2R
Citroën Team), Axel Zingle (Cofidis) and Andrea Bagioli (Soudal Quick-Step)
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TV Amstel Gold Race 2023
NOS, Sporza and Eurosport
will all be covering the event, starting around 1:00 PM. Eurosport will
start with the women's race and, after they cross the finish, switch to the
men's race. The Dutch (NPO 1) and Belgians (Sporza) will also make enough time
in their afternoon programs to broadcast the Dutch classic.
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Route and results Tour of the Alps 2023 | Geoghegan Hart delivers first blow, new mountain stage on day two
Amstel Gold Race made Pidcock decide to let Evenepoel go: “Legs became increasingly heavy”
Interview | Can Pidcock deliver after six hours in Liège? "The fact that I struggle with distance has gotten in my head a bit," he says.
Interview | “The more Mathieu van der Poel complains, the better he is”, training buddy Jan Maas laughs