cycling
The Amstel Gold Race for men and women had a chaotic start. The women’s match was neutralized for a long time due to an accident, and was later severely shortened. The men’s course underwent a limited change.
After just over an hour of racing, the women’s race was stopped. This happened after an accident with a police officer on the course, the organization of the Amstel Gold Race confirms. The officer, a motorcyclist, was hit by a car on the Bergseweg. The passage on that slope was therefore blocked. The women therefore stood still for about an hour.
Ultimately, an important part of the large loop of the women’s course was deleted, and the women’s peloton rode neutralized to the local laps in and around Valkenburg. A round was also canceled there, the organization confirmed: instead of four rounds, three more are planned. After neutralization, barely 55 kilometers of race remain. The local circuit always includes the climb of the Geulhemmerberg, the Bemelerberg and the Cauberg. The women will now probably finish between 2:30 PM and 3 PM.
Due to the delay among the women, the route had to be adjusted for the men’s peloton: they had started 45 minutes after the women, followed the same route in the initial phase, and were in danger of ending up in the same delay. That is why the climb of the Bergseweg for the men was canceled and they went in a loop around the stationary women’s peloton. Their course still contains 32 slopes instead of 33.
The Amstel Gold Race is the largest Dutch classic and is finished in Dutch Limburg. Successors are being sought for the Slovenian Tadej Pogacar and the Dutch Demi Vollering.
