Betting Amstel Gold Race
- Betting Amstel Gold Racer
- Amstel Gold Race Route
- Betting Amstel Gold Race Track
- Betting Amstel Gold Race Handicapping
Sky Bet Money Back as CASH if you Lose in the Cheltenham Supreme Novices' Hurdle. Sky Bet are back with their fantastic first race special offer for Cheltenham Festival 2021. 16 hours ago “We are very happy with the message from the authorities that the Amstel Gold Race can be held on Sunday April 18. We have not been idle and have remained in talks with governments and have been able to work out the plans in detail, ”says race director Leo van Vliet. Cycling - Amstel Gold Race 1991 - Results. Sport Betting; Yearly calendar; Latest results.
On Sunday, April 21st, cycling fans will be treated to one of the most popular one-day classics in the world – the Amstel Gold Race. This event takes place in Limburg, the Netherlands, and it’s become the Dutch’s most important road race. The Amstel Gold Race has been a part of the UCI World Tour since 1989 and has been held on the Sunday after Paris-Roubaix since 2004. It kicks off Ardennes Week and is the first of three Ardennes Classics.
The inaugural Amstel Gold Race was held in 1966, making it one of the youngest spring classics on the tour. However, it quickly became a popular race among fans, pundits and cyclists. This race has also undergone many changes over the years as organizers have constantly tweaked the course to make it the most competitive and enjoyable to watch as possible.
The 2019 edition of the Amstel Gold Race is shaping up to be explosive as the previous 5 winners are all expected to be at the starting line on Sunday. Those 5 cyclists have combined to win the last 9 straight Amstel Gold Races.
The 2019 Amstel Gold Race Route
The 2019 Amstel Gold Race is a 265.7 km one-day classic that will feature 35 hills and plenty of action to keep fans captivated until the very end of the race. This year’s route is almost identical to last year’s course, which fans praised the organizers for the exciting action that took place.
Since 1991, the race has started in Maastricht and it will continue that tradition this year. Almost immediately, riders will begin tackling what will feel like an endless number of hills as they zigzag throughout the Limburg region. The steepest climbs are saved for late in the race and the finish has become more technical than years past. Ultimately, only the strongest will contend for the victory when the race ends in Cauberg.
Previous Amstel Gold Race Winners
The 2019 edition of the Amstel Gold Race will be the 54th running of this popular one-day classic. Jan Raas holds the record for the most wins with 5. However, Philippe Gilbert is second with 4 wins and will compete in this year’s race. The following is a list of winners dating back to 2004:
- Davide Rebellin in 2004
- Danilo Di Luca in 2005
- Frank Schleck in 2006
- Stefan Schumacher in 2007
- Damiano Cunego in 2008
- Serguei Ivanov in 2009
- Philippe Gilbert in 2010, 2011, 2014 and 2017
- Enrico Gasparotto in 2012, 2016
- Roman Kreuziger in 2013
- Michal Kwiatkowski in 2015
- Michael Valgren in 2018
Amstel Gold Race Betting Odds
The following is a partial list of cycling betting odds for the 2019 Amstel Gold Race courtesy of Bet365:
- Mathieu Van Der Poel (+650)
- Julian Alaphilippe (+650)
- Peter Sagan (+800)
- Michael Matthews (+900)
- Maximilian Schachmann (+1000)
- Philippe Gilbert (+1600)
- Michal Kwiatkowski (+1800)
- Alejandro Valverde (+1800)
- Tim Wellens (+1800)
- Jakob Fuglsang (+2200)
- Enrico Gasparotto (+2200)
- Roman Kreuziger (+2200)
- Greg Van Avermaet (+2500)
- Alexey Lutsenko (+2500)
- Alberto Bettiol (+3300)
- Michael Valgren (+3300)
- Jelle Vanendert (+3300)
- Wout Van Aert (+4000)
- Sonny Colbrelli (+4000)
Amstel Gold Race Betting Favorites
The following cyclists are considered the odds on favorites to win the Amstel Gold Race on Sunday:
Mathieu Van Der Poel (+650)
The majority of cycling betting sites have Van Der Poel listed as the betting favorite. Some, like Bet365 have Alaphilippe as a co-favorite to win the race.
Van Der Poel is coming into the AGR with a lot of momentum. He finished 1st in the Brabantse Pijl, 4th at the Tour of Flanders and 4th at Gent-Wevelgem. He’s riding strong since starting his cycling season and he looks like a legit threat to win the AGR on Sunday. In the Brabantse Pijl, he outsprinted Julian Alaphilippe to win the race and pulled away from a group of four.
Van Der Poel is a former world cyclocross champ and is only just 24 years old. He’s proving to the rest of the sport that he’s going to be a Classics contender for a long time to come. But, will his success in this mid-week Brabantse Pijl race translate into victory on Sunday at the AGR?
Julian Alaphilippe (+650)
Julian didn’t compete in some of the cobbled classics, but he has competed in other spring races and has had a great deal of success. That’s why he comes into the AGR as a co-betting favorite. As mentioned, Alaphilippe finished 2nd at the Brabantse Pijl, which is considered the warmup to the AGR. He also won the Milano-Sanremo and the Strade Bianche in March. At the Colombia 2.1, Alaphilippe finished 1st in points classification and 7th in the GC. Let’s also not forget that Julian won the “king of the mountains” classification at last year’s Tour de France.
This will be the 4th time Alaphilippe has competed in the AGR. His three previous finishes were a 6th place and two 7th place results, with one of them coming last year. At 26 years old, Alaphilippe is definitely entering his prime and he will be a threat on Sunday. Will the roles reverse between Alaphilippe and Van der Poel from the Brabantse Pijl?
Peter Sagan (+800)
The rock star of cycling is not having a great spring season so far. Sagan is seems to be off his game and it’s showing in the results. Sagan was one of the favorites for Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders, but could only manage a 5th and 11th place finish respectively. At the Milano-Sanremo, Sagan fell short of expectations as he finished 4th. When you look at what he did at the Gent-Wevelgem (32nd place) and the E3 (17th), it’s clear that Peter needs to find his form before the Grand Tours start.
For the third straight one-day classics race, Sagan is one of the betting favorites. However, I would avoid placing a wager on Peter until he shows that his form has returned. This will be Sagan’s 5th appearance in the AGR. Last year, Sagan finished 4th which was one spot below his best ever finish of 3rd. He’s also finished 36th and 97th.
As much as I like Sagan, he’s the one betting favorite to avoid on Sunday.
Michael Matthews (+900)
Matthews hasn’t had that busy of a spring season so far. However, he has performed well when he has raced. Matthews had a disappointing 12th place finish at Milano-Sanremo, but did bounce back to win two stages at the Volta a Catalunya and take the points classification. He then finished 6th at the Tour of Flanders and 4th this week at the Brabantse Pijl.
Matthews is looking ready to compete for the win at the AGR. Sunday’s race will mark the 6th time that Matthews has competed in this event. He’s also looking to bounce back from a poor performance in 2018 when he finished 24th. That’s Matthews’ worst result of his career as his other 4 finishes were: 3rd, 5th, 10th, and 12th.
Matthews will lead Team Sunweb on Sunday and the team’s coach has stated that they will ride in support of Michael:
“The peloton will likely continue to split on the Eyserbosweg and Keutenberg and from there the race will be all about tactics. We ride in support of Michael who’s in great shape with two stage wins and the points jersey in Catalunya and a solid result at his Flanders debut. We’ll look to have other riders with him going into the final, to search for a good result after some bad luck here over the past few years.”
Maximilian Schachmann (+1000)
Maximilian is a 25-year-old German rider who has turned some heads this spring. He’s coming off a big moment in his career when he took 1st in the points classification at the Tour of the Basque Country. He won half of the stages in this race with 3 total wins. He finished 2nd to Matthews for the points classification at the Volta a Catalunya, but also won a stage in that race as well.
Schachmann is looking strong, but I do have concerns with his chances this Sunday. He rides on Bora-Hansgrohe, which we all know is Peter Sagan’s team. Maximilian’s only time competing in the AGR was 2017 and he finished 105th. More than likely, Maximilian will be called upon to help Sagan. The only way he gets a chance to compete for the win is if Sagan falters early and the team turns to Schachmann as the leader.
The Best Amstel Gold Race Betting Value
The following cyclists offer betting value based on their career success and current betting odds for this Sunday’s race:
Philippe Gilbert (+1600)
Philippe Gilbert was my “wild card” pick for Paris-Roubaix last weekend as I stated he could win the race if he was on top of his game. Although I went with another rider to win, I did believe Gilbert had a great shot. Well, he proved all of his doubters wrong and his supporters right as Philippe went out and won the Paris-Roubaix. It was one of the only spring classics that he had yet to conquer in his illustrious career.
Prior to Paris-Roubaix, Gilbert wasn’t having a great spring season. He didn’t finish the Tour of Flanders and had poor showings at Gent-Wevelgem (22nd), E3 (11th), and Milano-Sanremo (68th).
When it comes to the Amstel Gold Race, Gilbert is the gold standard this Sunday. Philippe will be competing in his 14th AGR this weekend and he’s a 4-time winner of this race. He’s finished 8 times in the Top 10 and comes into this weekend on a roll after Paris-Roubaix.
I believe Gilbert offers great value, but there is one concern – he’s on the same team with one of the betting favorites Julian Alaphilippe. It will be interesting to see who gets the nod as the leader late in the race. More than likely, the rider with the best legs on the final hills will get the nod as the leader. Last year, Alaphilippe was 7th and Gilbert was 13th. With that said, you can never count out the 4-time winner as he’s on the best team this Spring.
Michal Kwiatkowski (+1800)
Michal Kwiatkowski has fared well overall, but is coming off a crash in the Tour of Basque Country which knocked him out of the race. Nevertheless, Kwiatkowski had performed well in the prior races: 3rd at Milano-Sanremo, 3rd in GC and 1st in points classification for Paris-Nice, and 10th at the UAE Tour in February.
Kwiatkowski will be the leader of Team Sky in the AGR, so he will have the support from his teammates like Wout Poels. Let’s also not forget that Michal Kwiatkowski won this race in 2015 and has also finished as a runner up. He’s posted 4 Top 5 finishes in his career and will be competing in his 7th AGR overall. Last year, Kwiatkowski finished 31st, but he did get 2nd in 2017.
Can the Polish rider, and 2015 AGR winner, dial up another great performance this weekend?
Alejandro Valverde (+1800)
One of the most respected riders in the sport, Valverde is looking to compete in his 13th AGR this Sunday. Alejandro comes in with a decent spring season so far, although he didn’t win the Volta a Catalunya like many oddsmakers predicted he would. Nevertheless, he still finished 5th in points and 10th in GC. Valverde also snagged the 2nd place in the GC for the UAE Tour and the 7th place at Milano-Sanremo. More recently, Alejandro finished 8th at the Tour of Flanders.
With that said, the Amstel Gold Race has alluded Valverde in his HOF career. He’s finished runner up on two different occasions, notched 5 Top 5’s including a 5th place last year, and 6 Top 10’s as well. However, he has never been able to win this race. Could that change this weekend?
The hilly route is perfectly suited for Valverde who can fly up to the hills and also hold his own in a sprint. Valverde does have a young team supporting him this Sunday, so it does give me some cause for concern. With that said, don’t be surprised if you see this cycling vet competing for victory on the final hills of the AGR.
Team Dimension Data
Of all the teams in the Amstel Gold Race, Team Dimension Data seems to be the best suited to win. They will have a 3-head monster leading the way. However, it’s unclear which rider will be the leader that gets all of the support. And, to make things even more menacing for opposing teams, all three of Team Dimension Data’s top riders have won this race before, including sweeping the podium places last year. For the record, they weren’t on the same team last year. In fact they were all on different teams, but Team Dimension Data went out and signed all three of them in the offseason.
In 2018, Michael Valgren (+3300) won his first AGR in 5 tries. He also has a runner up on his resume as well. Unfortunately, he hasn’t raced well this spring. He has more DNF results than Top 15 finishes and appears to be off his form. However, his new team manager believes that Valgren will be motivated to win a second straight AGR this weekend.
Last year, Roman Kreuziger (+2200) finished runner up to Valgren in the AGR. It was the 3rd Top 5 finish for Kreuziger in 10 tries. Roman won the 2013 AGR, but hasn’t been able to get back to the top of the podium since then. Last year, was the closest he’s been in the last 5 tries. This year, Kreuziger has been average at best during the spring season. He did get 15th at Brabantse Pijl in a warmup race for this Sunday.
Enrico Gasparotto (+2200) is a two-time winner of the Amstel Gold Race. His first win came in 2012, the year before Kreuziger’s win. He then won again in 2016. Last year, Enrico was 3rd in this race which is the second time he’s accomplished that feat. In his 10 previous AGR races, Gasparotto has 4 Top 5’s and 7 Top 10’s. He has almost as many Top 5’s and more Top 10’s as his two teammates combined (Valgren and Kreuziger). Like his teammates, Gasparotto hasn’t accomplished much this spring. Despite that, he did finish 7th at the Brabantse Pijl and appears in the best form of the Team Dimension Data riders.
This really is a unique situation for Team Dimension Data. To have all three podium riders from last year, and three former winners as well, this team is poised to do something big on Sunday. The problem is that we aren’t sure which rider will have the best legs of the trio. If I had to guess, Gasparotto looks to be in the best form after his performance at Brabantse Pijl this week. With that said, all three riders offer solid betting value.
Top Longshot to Win the Amstel Gold Race
Betting Amstel Gold Racer
Wout Van Aert at +4000 odds is my longshot pick to win this race on Sunday. There is some question whether or not he will line up on Sunday, but as of this writing, Wout is expected to be there. He will be the unquestioned leader of Team Jumbo-Visma in his first try at the AGR.
Van Aert was a favorite at the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, but came up short in each one. At Flanders, Wout finished 14th with a group of riders. However, he “bonked” last weekend at Paris-Roubaix and finished 22nd. Earlier this year, Wout finished 2nd at E3, 6th at Milano-Sanremo and 3rd at Strade-Blanche. He’s had strong showing earlier this season, but seems to be tiring in the latter portion of the classics.
With that said, he will have a good team supporting him with Robert Gesink and Paul Martens guiding Wout along the way. Could he pull off the big upset this weekend?
Who will win the Amstel Gold Race?
Last weekend’s Paris-Roubaix was a tough race to pick a winner. But, this weekend’s AGR appears to be even harder to select a winner. With 5 former champs and three of those riders on the same team, this year’s AGR is going to be action-packed.
As I mentioned above, Peter Sagan is not in his best form. So, I believe he’s not going to contend for the victory this weekend. I also believe that his performance will nullify his teammate Schachmann as well. I like Matthews to have a strong showing, but I don’t believe his team is as good as the other teams with top race contenders.
The same can be said for the betting favorite Mathieu Van Der Poel. There are 6 riders on Team Corendon-Circus that have never been in this race before. They will be going up against teams like Team Sky who features Michal Kwiatkowski and Team Dimension Data with Valgren, Kreuziger, and Gasparotto. And, if those two teams weren’t enough to contend with, the top team this cycling season has been Quick Step-Deceuninck who have been cleaning up the races this spring.
Quick Step has won the most spring races so far and is coming off a win at Paris-Roubaix with Philippe Gilbert who is also a 4-time winner of this race. One of their top riders is Julian Alaphilippe who will be back on the bike for this race. He’s a co-betting favorite with 8 wins on the year so far, which includes multiple stages across three stage races. Additionally, he’s also won Strade Bianche, Milan-Sanremo and just finished 2nd at Brabantse Pijl after crashing out of the Tour of Basque Country.
Lastly, let’s not forget about Team Movistar who’s mostly a Grand Tour contender, but will have some horsepower this Sunday. They will feature Alejandro Valverde who has had some success these last few springs and is dedicated to winning the AGR.
Van Der Poel and Alaphilippe are the betting favorites, but I believe the winner will come from one of my betting value picks. As much as I would like to see Gilbert win two races in a row and become a 5-time winner of the AGR, I’m actually going with Alejandro Valverde to win this race. I was on the fence with Valverde a week ago, but after listening to Lance Armstrong and George Hincapie give their quick preview of the AGR, they convinced me that Valverde is a legit contender for a course that suits him. You can hear them in the video below.
Alejandro is a two-time runner up and I think he will finally get the AGR to win. Valverde has accomplished just about everything else and this win will punctuate a stellar career that’s coming to an end in 2021. The smart money might be on Van Der Poel or Alaphilippe, but I’m going with Valverde to upset those youngsters and win the 2019 Amstel Gold Race.
Amstel Gold Race Betting Recap
Winner:
- Alejandro Valverde (+1800)
Amstel Gold Race Route
Betting Value:
- Philippe Gilbert (+1600)
- Michal Kwiatkowski (+1800)
- Alejandro Valverde (+1800)
- Enrico Gaspartotto (+2200)
- Roman Kreuziger (+2200)
- Michael Valgren (+3300)
Longshot:
- Wout Van Aert (+4000)
Betting Amstel Gold Race Track
Final Thoughts on the Amstel Gold Race
The 2019 Amstel Gold Race is going to be exciting. With so many former winners and top contenders, this race will be explosive all the way up until the end. Whoever has the best legs and team strategy will win this race. I’m going with Valverde partly due to sentiment and partly due to the opinions of Hincapie and Armstrong. But, I also feel that this course is suited for him especially if he has the legs. Alejandro has raced well this spring, but has yet to get a win. That will change this weekend.