2015 Amstel Gold Race

2015 Amstel Gold Race

2015 UCI World Tour, race 11 of 28[1]
Cauberg during the 2015 race
Race details
Dates	19 April 2015[2]
Distance	258 km (160.3 mi)
Winning time	6h 31' 49"
Results
Winner  Michał Kwiatkowski (POL) (Etixx–Quick-Step)   Second  Alejandro Valverde (ESP) (Movistar Team)   Third  Michael Matthews (AUS) (Orica–GreenEDGE)
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The 2015 Amstel Gold Race was the 50th edition of the Amstel Gold Race one-day race. It took place on 19 April and was the eleventh race of the 2015 UCI World Tour. The Amstel Gold Race formed part of the Ardennes classics season, although it took place in the Limburg region of the Netherlands rather than in the Belgian Ardennes. It took place in the week before La Flèche Wallonne and Liège–Bastogne–Liège, the other principal Ardennes classics. The defending champion in the 2015 edition of the race was Philippe Gilbert, who had won the race three times and had also won the 2012 world championships on a very similar course.^[3]

The race took place on a 258-kilometre (160 mi) route centred on the town of Valkenburg aan de Geul; the route included 34 short climbs, several of which were repeated. The decisive climb was the Cauberg, the fourth ascent of which came within 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) of the finishing line. The race typically suited puncheurs.

After several attacking groups were caught, the decisive action came on the final ascent of the Cauberg. A small group formed after the climb and sprinted for the race victory. The sprint was won by Michał Kwiatkowski, the reigning world champion; it was his first road race victory since he won the world championships. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team) was second, with Michael Matthews (Orica–GreenEDGE) third.