2009 Amstel Gold Race
Encyclopedia
The 2009 Amstel Gold Race was the 44th edition of the Amstel Gold Race
classic
cycle race and took place on April 19, 2009. It was held on a 257.4 kilometres (159.9 mi) course from Maastricht
to Cauberg
, Holland as the fifth event of the 2009 UCI ProTour
, and the ninth event in the inaugural UCI World Ranking
series. It was won by Serguei Ivanov, who formed a late breakaway with Robert Gesink
and Karsten Kroon with 8 km to go.
The top three from 2008 event
, Damiano Cunego
, Fränk Schleck
, and Alejandro Valverde
, were present but only Cunego managed to finish in the top ten.
Over the course of the race many riders sought to breakaway from the peloton. While some breakaways lasted a time, all were eventually retrieved. The final attempt, by Roman Kreuziger
ultimately contributed to the winning move:
Amstel Gold Race
The Amstel Gold Race is a road bicycle race held in the southern part of the province of Limburg, Netherlands. Since 1989 it has been among the races included in season long rankings tables, as part of the UCI Road World Cup , the UCI ProTour , UCI World Ranking and from 2011 the UCI World Tour...
classic
Classic cycle races
The classic cycle races are one-day professional cycling road races in the international calendar. Most of the events, all run in western Europe, have been fixtures on the professional calendar for decades and the oldest ones date back to the 19th Century. They are normally held at roughly the same...
cycle race and took place on April 19, 2009. It was held on a 257.4 kilometres (159.9 mi) course from Maastricht
Maastricht
Maastricht is situated on both sides of the Meuse river in the south-eastern part of the Netherlands, on the Belgian border and near the German border...
to Cauberg
Cauberg
The Cauberg is a hill in Valkenburg aan de Geul, a city in the Netherlands. The length of the climb is around 1200 m, with a maximum grade of 12%.- Road Cycling :...
, Holland as the fifth event of the 2009 UCI ProTour
2009 UCI ProTour
The 2009 UCI ProTour was the fifth series of the UCI ProTour. Two new teams, the American and the Russian , joined the ProTour, effectively taking over the licenses of and . Two existing teams changed title sponsors: from Denmark became , and changed name to . As in 2008, the races organized by...
, and the ninth event in the inaugural UCI World Ranking
2009 UCI World Ranking
The 2009 UCI World Ranking is the first edition of the ranking system launched by the International Cycling Union , replacing the rankings previously part of the UCI ProTour. The series started with the Tour Down Under's opening stage on 20 January, and consists of 13 stage races and 11 one-day...
series. It was won by Serguei Ivanov, who formed a late breakaway with Robert Gesink
Robert Gesink
Robert Gesink is a Dutch professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam Rabobank.-Early years:At the Junior World Championships of 2004 UCI Road World Championships in Verona, Gesink finished eighth in the individual time trial and sixth in the road race, while riding for team De Peddelaars in...
and Karsten Kroon with 8 km to go.
The top three from 2008 event
2008 Amstel Gold Race
The 2008 Amstel Gold Race is the 43rd edition of the Amstel Gold Race classic cycle race and took place on April 20, 2008. It was held on a course from Maastricht to Cauberg as the fifth event of the 2008 UCI ProTour. Italian rider Damiano Cunego of won the event after sprinting past Luxembourger...
, Damiano Cunego
Damiano Cunego
Damiano Cunego is an Italian professional road racing cyclist who rides for the Italian UCI ProTeam . His biggest wins are the 2004 Giro d'Italia, the 2008 Amstel Gold Race, and the Giro di Lombardia in 2004, 2007, 2008. He finished second in the UCI Road World Championships in 2008 and in the...
, Fränk Schleck
Fränk Schleck
Fränk René Schleck is a Luxembourgish professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam . At the start of 2005, Schleck was joined by his younger brother Andy on , and they split the 2005 national championships between them, with Fränk winning the road race and Andy winning the time trial...
, and Alejandro Valverde
Alejandro Valverde
Alejandro Valverde Belmonte is a Spanish road racing cyclist currently under suspension. He last rode for UCI ProTour team . Valverde's biggest wins have been the 2009 Vuelta a España, the Liège–Bastogne–Liège in 2006, 2008 and 2006 UCI ProTour series championship...
, were present but only Cunego managed to finish in the top ten.
Over the course of the race many riders sought to breakaway from the peloton. While some breakaways lasted a time, all were eventually retrieved. The final attempt, by Roman Kreuziger
Roman Kreuziger
Roman Kreuziger is a Czech professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTour team . Kreuziger is an all-rounder, with climbing and time trial abilities, becoming a contender for the General Classification of stage races...
ultimately contributed to the winning move:
Andy SchleckAndy SchleckAndy Raymond Schleck is a Luxembourgish professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTour team . He is the younger brother of Fränk Schleck, who also rides for . Their father Johny Schleck rode the Tour de France and Vuelta a España between 1965 and 1974...
led the peloton at a steady pace over the Kruisberg while Gasparotto did the same over the famous Eyserbosweg. In the descent Kreuziger sneaked away on his own and he rode up the following climb of the Fromberg on the big ring. Still, he gained no more than 100 metres over a peloton that was reduced to no more than 50 riders.
Serguei Ivanov (Katusha), marked by Vincenzo NibaliVincenzo NibaliVincenzo Nibali is an Italian professional road bicycle racer who rides UCI ProTeam . Born near the Strait of Messina, Nibali's nickname is the "shark of the strait" or simply "the shark." His first major win came at the 2006 GP Ouest-France, where he beat an impressive field on a tough course...
(Liquigas), tried to bridge up towards Kreuziger but the attempt from the Russian fell short since the Italian didn't co-operate in this counter-attack.
On the Keutenberg, the penultimate climb, Simon GerransSimon GerransSimon Gerrans is an Australian professional road bicycle racer, who currently rides for the British UCI ProTour team, .-Biography:Gerrans was born in Melbourne, Victoria and grew up in Mansfield, Victoria....
(Cervélo TestTeam) caught Kreuziger, followed by Ivanov, Robert GesinkRobert GesinkRobert Gesink is a Dutch professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam Rabobank.-Early years:At the Junior World Championships of 2004 UCI Road World Championships in Verona, Gesink finished eighth in the individual time trial and sixth in the road race, while riding for team De Peddelaars in...
(Rabobank), Philippe GilbertPhilippe GilbertPhilippe Gilbert is a Belgian professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTour team . Gilbert is a classics specialist...
(Silence-Lotto), Andy Schleck, Michael AlbasiniMichael AlbasiniMichael Albasini is a Swiss professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam . Albasini began his career in 2003 with , moved to at the beginning of 2005, and signed with for the 2009 season...
(Columbia-Highroad), Christian PfannbergerChristian PfannbergerChristian Pfannberger is an Austrian former professional road racing cyclist. He was a two-time Austrian national road-race champion . Other achievements included winning the U23 National Championship in 2001 and the Giro del Capo, a stage race in South Africa in 2008...
(Katusha) and Karsten Kroon (Saxo Bank).
Meanwhile, the likes of Samuel SánchezSamuel SánchezSamuel Sánchez González is a Spanish professional road bicycle racer. He was the gold medal winner in the 2008 Beijing Olympics Men's Road Race. In recent years Sánchez has proven himself in hilly classics and stage races as one of the most important riders in the peloton...
(Euskaltel-Euskadi), Alejandro ValverdeAlejandro ValverdeAlejandro Valverde Belmonte is a Spanish road racing cyclist currently under suspension. He last rode for UCI ProTour team . Valverde's biggest wins have been the 2009 Vuelta a España, the Liège–Bastogne–Liège in 2006, 2008 and 2006 UCI ProTour series championship...
(Caisse d'Epargne), Damiano CunegoDamiano CunegoDamiano Cunego is an Italian professional road racing cyclist who rides for the Italian UCI ProTeam . His biggest wins are the 2004 Giro d'Italia, the 2008 Amstel Gold Race, and the Giro di Lombardia in 2004, 2007, 2008. He finished second in the UCI Road World Championships in 2008 and in the...
(Lampre-NGC) and Davide RebellinDavide RebellinDavide Rebellin is an Italian road bicycle racer, currently riding for the Italian Miche-Guerciotti team. He served a 2-year suspension for testing positive for Mircera at the 2008 Olympic Games...
(Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli) missed this move and were consequently effectively shut out of contesting the finale.
Gesink attacked the leader's group after the climb of the Keutenberg. The Dutchman was joined by Ivanov and Kroon a little later, and while Albasini tried to bridge towards the leaders on his own, it didn't stick. The leading trio was left on its own out front and soon after were the occupants of the podium's three steps.
Result
| Cyclist | Team | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6h 38' 31" | ||
| 2 | s.t. | ||
| 3 | + 8" | ||
| 4 | s.t. | ||
| 5 | s.t. | ||
| 6 | s.t. | ||
| 7 | s.t. | ||
| 8 | s.t. | ||
| 9 | s.t. | ||
| 10 | s.t. |