Organisers altered the route of the Amstel Gold Race 2012
The 47th edition of the Amstel Gold Race will begin on April 15th and the organisers have made a little alteration in the route. It was announced earlier today that the changes will be made during the opening part of the race.
Race Director Leo Van Vliet revealed that the first division of the race will lose almost 2 kilometres between the second last climb, Keutenberg.
The previously 12.3 kilometre section will be reduced to 9.6 kilometres which will favour the aggressive riders.
The cut down of the stage will make it pretty difficult for the cyclists to catch up once they are left behind on the Keutenberg top.
Van Vliet explained, "I am convinced that this redrawn final section will encourage exciting riding because attackers are much more likely to succeed. In the past, escapes on or after the Keutenberg were created mostly on the flat section before the Sibbergrubbe
but were caught in the run up to the Cauberg”.
He further added, “Now, anyone who escapes before the descent of the Daalhemmerberg has the opportunity to recover before the final climb of the Cauberg begins”.
Philippe Gilbert won the previous edition of the race, with Joaquin Rodriguez and Simon Gerrans claiming the second and third positions.
Andy Schleck of Team RadioShack-Nissan attacked at the Keutenberg last year. Andy was caught up by Jelle Vanendert of Omega Pharma-Quickstep even before the Cauberg.
Team Katusha’s rider, Joaquin Rodriguez, counter attacked and fell only two seconds short of the race leader.
Jakob Fuglsang, Alexandr Kolobnev and Oscar Freire secured the fifth, sixth and seventh positions, respectively.
The organisers also believe that the changes in the track will make the race more interesting and it will favour the aggressive riders.
The shorter distance between Keutenberg and Cauberg makes it an ideal opportunity for the climbers to secure an important victory.
The rest of the course at the Amstel Gold Race remains unchanged. The competition will commence at the market square in Maastricht and will finish at the Cauberg in Valkenburg.
Cyclists will go through a gruelling distance of 255.1 kilometres, with a total number of 31 climbs.
Project 1t4I, Accent-Willems Veranda, Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator and Landbouwkrediet-Euphony are the four teams that have been invited through the wild card entry.
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