Amstel Gold Race
 |
|
| Date | Mid to late April |
|---|---|
| Region | Limburg, the Netherlands |
| English name | Amstel Gold Race |
| Discipline | Road |
| Competition | UCI World Tour |
| Type | One-day race |
| Organiser | Amstel Gold Race Foundation |
| Race director | Leo van Vliet |
| First edition | 1966 |
| Editions | 51 (as of 2016) |
| First winner |
 Jean Stablinski (FRA)
|
| Most wins |
 Jan Raas (NED) (5 times) |
| Most recent |
 Enrico Gasparotto (ITA)
|
The Amstel Gold Race is an annual road bicycle race in the province of Limburg, the Netherlands. It traditionally marks the turning point of the spring classics, with the climbers and stage racers replacing the cobbled classics riders as the favourites.
Since 1989 the event has been included in season-long competitions at the highest level of UCI, as part of the UCI Road World Cup (1989–2004), the UCI ProTour (2005–2010), UCI World Ranking (2009–2010) and since 2011 of the UCI World Tour. It is the only one-day World Tour race staged in the Netherlands and is considered the most important Dutch road cycling event. Dutchman Jan Raas holds the winning record with five victories.
Dutch beer brewer Amstel has served as the race's title sponsor since its creation in 1966. The name does not directly refer to the river Amstel, which runs through the city of Amsterdam.
In 2017 a Women's Amstel Gold Race will be held for the first time since 2003. The event is held on the same day and on largely the same roads as the men's race and will be included in the 2017 UCI Women's World Tour.
The Amstel Gold Race was created by Dutch sports promoters Ton Vissers and Herman Krott, who ran a company called Inter Sport. Their dream was to create a Dutch classic cycle race able to compete with the monument races of Flanders and Italy. The first edition was announced to be held on 30 April 1966, the Netherlands' National Holiday. The plan was to start in Amsterdam, before branching out to the east of the country and finishing in Maastricht, in the southeast of the country, totaling 280 km.
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