The Amstel Gold Race is one of the few races that Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar Team) never won, and the 2022 edition was no different. Despite attacking early on the final ascent of the Cauberg, she could not shake off all her competitors and eventually finished fourth in a close sprint, three seconds behind solo winner Marta Cavalli (FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope).
“I had hoped for a more exciting race, so it was a bit disappointing in that way. If you arrive at the bottom of the Cauberg with such a big group, it is not raced hard enough for me. I have to accept that this course is more for explosive climbers, and I did everything I had in my legs today. This one is hard for me to win; I only stand a real chance if we arrive at the Cauberg with a smaller group. For me to win here, I need a group of 10-15 riders at the bottom of the last Cauberg,” Annemiek van Vleuten said.
Although the Cauberg is the final – and decisive – climb in the women’s race, the hardest climb, the Keutenberg, comes 68 kilometres from the finish, followed by three laps of a finishing circuit, as opposed to 34 kilometres from the line in the men’s race.
Only Demi Vollering (Team SD Worx) and Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) could follow Van Vleuten’s attack on the Keutenberg, with four other riders bridging on the plateau after the climb, but so far from the finish the group did not work together and was caught again with 40km to go.
