The Cauberg, Amstel Gold Race

With 34 climbs and 4,000m of climbing in more than 250km of racing, the profile of the re-worked route for the 2013 Amstel Gold Race resembled a rider’s cardiograph. Four ascents of the Cauberg were included, but the race no longer finished atop the famous Valkenberg climb, with the finish line moved instead to 1.8km further on to resemble the finishing straight of the 2012 World Championships. Nevertheless, the Cauberg was always likely to prove decisive – particularly with the mid-point of the kilometre-long ascent being marked by a ‘wall’ graded at almost 14 per cent.

Saxo-Tinkoff’s Roman Kreuziger powered away from a small leading group with 18km of the final lap of the race remaining to tackle the Cauberg alone. With world champion, Philippe Gilbert (BMC Racing), mounting a counter-attack further down the slope, Kreuziger’s solo challenge could quite easily have faded as he battled up its wicked slopes with no support. But the Czech ace proved himself to be made of stern stuff, powering on alone and descending at speed to sprint to the line and seal a big solo victory.