Every year in the month of April, South Limburg is the epicentre of the Dutch cycling scene for one weekend. The Amstel Gold Race has been held then for decades. The best thing South Limburg has to offer. I used to holiday here often, in the area around Eys and the infamous Eyserbosweg. Near Gulpen and the Gulpenerberg. In Slenaken, at the bottom of the Loorberg, there is a complete family history. Not to mention the Keuterberg (now not in the race) and the Cauberg. Stories abound. I'll take you through some of the beautiful climbs, based on a few personal anecdotes.
Text: Sander Kolsloot
Camerig
It must have been the year 1992 that I first encountered the Camerig. As a family, we never went very far on holiday, so this was a serious mountain for me. Driving up from Epen, I won't soon forget that beautiful hairpin. The view over the valley is also beautiful. I can still hear my parents saying: 'having a house here is great'. That never happened. What I will also remember? The ice cream at the Wingbergerhoeve has remained a family favourite. What do you want, at the time 2.50 for five (!) scoops. The climb itself is over 150 kilometres from the finish, so is unlikely to be decisive. At 4.7 kilometres long and with a few vicious sections, it is not an easy climb.
Cauberg
Despite the Cauberg not being the steepest, not the longest and not the most difficult climb, this stretch from the town has Valkenburg an almost mythical status. For the Belgians, this is 'Gilbert territory'. Jan Raas also liked to come here. On top of the Cauberg, De Kneet fell into the arms of De Mart. For me, the Cauberg is one of two stories. My first encounter on the bike was one to quickly forget. It was raking. I also never thought about where to accelerate. It was getting to the top. My other experience? Yes, the one from 1998. Pouring rain. World Cup Valkenburg. The tall stature of Herman Wijffels. An angry mother and the rest is history. (read the here!) Enjoying and shouting at Michael Boogerd. Italians behind us just shouting "Michele!". The orange Rabo sea. What a bizarrely beautiful memory.
Loorberg
As mentioned earlier. There is family history here. In 1993, my niece got married in Slenaken's church. Year in, year out, we came to this village, sometimes for a holiday, sometimes for a day out. Cafeteria 't Brugske, at the bottom of the Loorberg was a regular. In 2016, I rode the Volta Limburg Classic with my brother. That I still had to push it up then I didn't expect. The Loorberg is a wonderful runner. Really a training climb. So nice for a peloton to just balloon out. This year, in 2022, it's watchful after that, because they dive down the King of Spain afterwards, towards the Gulperberg. That will be wringing.
Bemelerberg
The 1998 world championship runs like a thread through my cycling fan existence. We were in this area for four days. On the Bemelerberg, we stood at a cafe during the women's race. That's where 'our Leontien' came along. What a cacophony of sound as she passed by. The road race and time trial were bizarre in that respect. 'Tinus' won gold and silver. The pub went wild. So did we and that was back then without beer from the sponsor. At just under a kilometre at 5% average and peaking at 7.4%, this is certainly not a difficult climb. But given its location in the 2022 course, it is not to be missed.
Eyserbosweg
For many years from 1995 to 2005, I stood here. At the top of the Eyserbosweg. We made it a sport to see the race in as many places as possible during the many loops of the Amstel Gold Race. If you did your best, you could see the race six or seven times. The last place was then Eyserbosweg, with sometimes another sprint race towards Maastricht. There where 'Boogie' beat Lance in that infamous sprint. I especially remember us grabbing an intermediate road from Ubachsberg, then parking the car in the knoll field. Running to the top. Right at the point where the road flattened slightly, there we were. And there they came and Boogerd was in the front with them. So fantastic. A kilometre at almost 10 per cent with peaks towards 17.5 per cent. This is the real calf biter and executioner.
Keutenberg
Do we still need to talk about this pimple? The steepest metres in the Netherlands, at 22%. This is where everyone rakes up. So this is never good. It's not in the final loop, but you might be able to separate the wheat from the chaff here. It is only 1,200 metres long, but the first 400 metres are the most difficult and the toughest.
Route of the AGR 2022
The Route of the 2022 Amstel Gold Race can be found below. It will be a beautiful ride.
