Canadians at Amstel Gold Race
Hesjedal, Parisien, Meier and Routley contest Ardennes Classics opener in The Netherlands
The Ardennes Classics kick off with Amstel Gold Race on Sunday April 14 in The Netherlands. It is the first of three events that also includes La Flèche Wallonne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege.
The peloton will race 251 kms that includes more than 30 climbs before finishing almost two kilometres after the short and steep Cauberg ascent in the Valkenburg area.
The start list includes Canadians Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Sharp), Christian Meier (Orica-GreenEdge), Will Routley (Accent Jobs-Wanty) and Francois Parisien (Argos-Shimano).
Parisien won his first WorldTour stage at the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya last month. Following that victory, he cited the Ardennes Classics as one of his season targets, before possibly competing at the Giro d’Italia in May.
Hesjedal, who is looking to defend his title at the Giro d’Italia, is a strong contender to podium at Amstel Gold. He placed second to current world champion and two-time Amstel Gold winner Philippe Gilbert (BMC) in the 2010 edition of the one-day race.
Amstel Gold will showcase a strong field and some podium contenders include defending champion Enrico Gasparotto (Astana), Peter Sagan (Cannondale), Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEdge) and past winner Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Merida), among others.
