Preview Amstel Gold Race 2025 | Pogacar vs. van Aert, with Pidcock, Nys, Evenepoel & others in the mix

It is almost time for the biggest Dutch cycling race on the calendar: the Amstel Gold Race. In recent years, it has been a spectacle, but will this be the case in the near future? This year it probably will, so IDLProCycling.com will try to tell you all you need to know about the classic race in South Limburg before it starts.

The Amstel Gold Race has undergone a lot over the past decade. In 2019, Mathieu van der Poel managed to write cycling history with a phenomenal catch-up race, and in both 2021 and 2022, the Amstel Gold Race was decided with a photo finish that was impossible to interpret with the naked eye. Wout van Aert and Michal Kwiatkowski were the lucky ones, and Tom Pidcock and Benoit Cosnefroy were the unlucky ones. The Brit took revenge last year, while Tadej Pogacar left everyone behind in South Limburg in 2023.

But even in the years before, a story was always associated with the Amstel Gold Race. What about four-time winner Philippe Gilbert, who is always at his best around the Cauberg? Or the victory of Enrico Gasparotto in 2016, a few weeks after the passing of his teammate Antoine Demoité? All stories that make the Amstel Gold Race the classic it is in 2025.

Practical information Amstel Gold Race 2025 

• Maastricht - Berg en Terblijt (255.9 km)
• Sunday, April 20
• Participants
  
• Classification: WorldTour

In this article

• Latest winners
• Course, weather and times
• Favorites
• TV information

Latest winners Amstel Gold Race

2024 Tom Pidcock
2023 Tadej Pogacar
2022 Michal Kwiatkowski
2021 Wout van Aert
2020 Not ridden
2019 Mathieu van der Poel
2018 Michael Valgren
2017 Philippe Gilbert
2016 Enrico Gasparotto
2015 Michal Kwiatkowski

Amstel Gold Race 2025: Course, weather and times

Since 2013, the Amstel Gold Race no longer finishes at the top of the Valkenburg Cauberg. The finish line has been moved 1.8 kilometers further down the road to the exact same spot where the 2012 World Cycling Championships ended. This is a different kind of finale than we have seen in recent years, with a more prominent role for the most famous cycling hill in the Netherlands.

After starting on the Markt in Maastricht, the peloton makes a loop towards Sittard and Geleen at the beginning of the race. The route then returns to the Heuvelland via Ubachsberg, Simpelveld, and Nijswiller. Here, they will tackle a few iconic climbs, including the Loorberg and Camerig, before reaching the highlight of the race at the Drielandenpunt in Vaals.

After this, the actual finale begins, in which the climbs follow each other in rapid succession, with the Eyserbosweg, Keutenberg, and finally, the mythical Cauberg. In addition to the Geulhemmerberg and the Bemelerberg, the Cauberg (including more narrow passages than in recent years) has been included in the final round, and the finish line will be in the same place as in previous years.

The men will tackle the Cauberg a total of three times. After that, it is another 1.8 kilometers of racing to Berg en Terblijt, where the VIPs can look forward to several passages of the riders. "With the type of riders who nowadays start final many kilometers from the end, and then climb the Cauberg with only two kilometers to go, we expect another thrilling finale," race director Leo van Vliet looked ahead with anticipation.

Weather
What kind of weather can we expect in South Limburg on Sunday? There will be hardly any wind, but there is a chance of rain in the afternoon. The temperature will be just under 20 degrees Celsius.

Times
Start: 10:40 AM local time (03:40 AM EDT)
Finish: 4:57 PM local time (10:57 AM EDT)

Favorites Amstel Gold Race 2025 

Compared to the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, many different men will be lining up, but one factor remains stable: Tadej Pogacar will be the top favorite. The Slovenian from UAE Emirates-XRG will have one week to recover from his first Paris-Roubaix and will then start on the Amstel as his next objective. Jhonatan Narváez, Jan Christen, and Brandon McNulty, among others, will support him.

Tom Pidcock won the Amstel Gold Race last season, although the Q36.5 man will still think that the 2021 edition belonged to him. Officially, however, it is on the list of honors of Wout van Aert, who will once again conclude his spring campaign in the Gold Race on behalf of Visma | Lease a Bike. Tiesj Benoot - third last year - also seems to have a chance.

The Amstel Gold Race will also be the first real hill classic in Thibau Nys's career. In the Lidl-Trek team, he will have the strong Mattias Skjelmose, Toms Skujins, Andrea Bagioli, and good old Bauke Mollema at his side. Remco Evenepoel is the other Belgian contender, as he will be riding for Soudal Quick-Step with Maximilian Schachmann, who rides well in the Basque Country.

Jayco AlUla starts with Michael Matthews, who met his current wife many years ago in South Limburg, and 2024 revelation Ben O'Connor, while the French formation Groupama-FDJ is counting on the spring horses Romain Grégoire and Valentin Madouas. We see a somewhat similar selection at Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe with Maxim Van Gils, Roger Adria, and Finn Fisher-Black.

EF Education-EasyPost has put up Dwars door Vlaanderen winner Neilson Powless, the always-active Ben Healy, and the fast rider Marijn van den Berg. At the same time, INEOS Grenadiers have chosen the Magnus Sheffield-Axel Laurance combination. Tudor hopes for a revival from Marc Hirschi and/or Julian Alaphilippe, just as Decathlon AG2R would like to see from former winner Benoit Cosnefroy. At Cofidis, Dylan Teuns and Alex Aranburu call the shots.

On behalf of XDS-Astana, Clément Champoussin and Simone Velasco have been riding well for quite some time, while Bahrain Victorious, with Pello Bilbao, Matej Mohoric, and Santiago Buitrago among others, is struggling a bit more. Other outsiders are Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa - B&B Hotels), Quinten Hermans (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Markus Hoelgaard (Uno-X), Arjen Livyns (Lotto), Joe Blackmore, Alexey Lutsenko, Corbin Strong (Israel-Premier Tech) and Lander Loockx, who is riding very well on behalf of Unibet Tietema Rockets.

Who are the favorites for the Amstel Gold Race 2025, according to IDLProCycling.com

Top favorites: Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates-XRG) and Tom Pidcock (Q36.5)
Outsiders: Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step), Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike), Thibau Nys (Lidl-Trek), Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ) and Michael Matthews (Jayco AlUla)

TV broadcast Amstel Gold Race 2025

The NOS, Sporza, and Eurosport will all broadcast from around 13:00 PM local time (07:00 AM EDT), starting with the women's race. Eurosport will start with the women's race and switch to the men after the finish, while the Dutch (NPO 1) and the Belgians (Sporza) will also make enough room in their afternoon programs for the Dutch classic after the women's finish.

Read also

Adrie van der Poel gets goosebumps from Mathieu and the 'current generation' but is less amused when the bidon-throwing incident is mentioned

Tadej Pogacar responds to alternate take on his crash in Roubaix: "It's good that you mention it…"

🎥 Perpetrator quickly identified after 'attempted manslaughter' on van der Poel and reports to Belgian police

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Get every week the latest news about CYCLING in your inbox!

Subscribe