It was the first edition of the women's Amstel Gold Race after a 14-year hiatus. With the reboot of the women's event and the creation of a women's Liège–Bastogne–Liège, in addition to La Flèche Wallonne Féminine, the women's season has the same trio of Ardennes classics as the men's. [2] Van der Breggen won all three races in 2017.[3]
Route
The race started on Maastricht's Markt, the city's central market square, and finished in Berg en Terblijt, covering 121.6 km. The route was made up of one bigger loop in the south of Limburg, followed by three 17.6 km loops centering around Valkenburg which featured the Geulhemmerberg, Bemelerberg and Cauberg climbs. In total, the route contained 17 categorized hills, usually short but with a varying gradient and coming in quick succession throughout the race.[1] The Cauberg was addressed four times; its last crossing was also the last climb of the day. From the top of the Cauberg, there was a 1.7 km run-in to the finish line in Berg en Terblijt.[4]
Teams
Twenty-one teams participated in the race. Each team had a maximum of six riders:[5]