Amstel Gold Race Ladies Edition: April 18, 2021 Distance: 116.3km Start: Valkenburg, Netherlands - 8:30 a.m. CET Finish: Berg en Terblijt, Netherlands - 12:00 p.m. CET
Marianne Vos (Team Jumbo-Visma) won the 2021 Amstel Gold Race Ladies Edition. The 33-year-old was part of a group that could not quite follow Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) and Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo) on the final ascent of the Cauberg but reeled in the two frontrunners on the final kilometre.
In the sprint, Vos quickly took the lead and raised her arms to celebrate. Despite a late surge, Demi Vollering (Team SD Worx) was still a wheel's length behind at the finish line, with Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar Team) taking third place.
Amstel Gold Race Ladies Edition returned to the Women's WorldTour spring calendar after it was cancelled last year in April, and again in October, due to COVID-19. Amstel Gold Race was held on April 18 as the kick off to the Ardennes Classics, that also include Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
The first edition of the Amstel Gold Race Ladies Edition was won by Debby Mansveld of the Netherlands. Leontien Zijlaard-van Moorsel, also from the Netherlands, won the second edition and Great Britain's Nicole Cooke won the third.
The race then went on a 14-year hiatus before returning in 2017, won by Dutch rider Anna van der Breggen. Since then, her compatriot Chantal van de Broek-Blaak and Polish all-rounder Kasia Niewiadoma have won titles at the more recent editions of the Amstel Gold Race Ladies Edition.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
The race was cancelled in 2020 due to COVID-19 but has returned to the 2021 Women's WorldTour.
Amstel Gold Race Ladies Edition - key climbs
The women's race did not start in Maastricht due to COVID-19 but instead started at Valkenburg. The peloton contested, a slightly shorter 14.9km opening lap, followed by six full laps of a 16.9-kilometre circuits, all featuring the Geulhemmerberg, Bemelerberg and Cauberg climbs, for a total of 116.3 kilometres.
Cyclingnews is the world's leader in English-language coverage of professional cycling. Started in 1995 by University of Newcastle professor Bill Mitchell, the site was one of the first to provide breaking news and results over the internet in English. The site was purchased by Knapp Communications in 1999, and owner Gerard Knapp built it into the definitive voice of pro cycling. Since then, major publishing house Future PLC has owned the site and expanded it to include top features, news, results, photos and tech reporting. The site continues to be the most comprehensive and authoritative English voice in professional cycling.
