For Van Emden, who still lives in Limburg, the Amstel Gold Race evokes warm feelings every year. As a professional rider, he lined up at the start of the hill classic sixteen times, and now he is in the team car as a sports director for the third time. “I certainly regard it as one of the most important races of the year. It’s the biggest race in the Netherlands, so you have to be extra motivated for it.”

In the twelfth edition of the Amstel Gold Race, the riders face a 158-kilometre course, including 21 climbs. In the final, three local laps of eighteen kilometres await, featuring the Cauberg among others. "The toughest section of this course is twelve kilometres long, featuring the Kruisberg, Eyserbosweg, Fromberg and Keutenberg. In my view, that’s too far from the finish to be decisive for the race. I think that’s a shame. You want such lovely climbs to have an impact on the race", says Van Emden.

According to Van Emden, the experience as a rider is different from that of a sports director. "I’m looking forward to it much more intensely now than I did as a rider. Back then, I was just doing my job, but now I’m constantly focused on it from start to finish. As a rider, I really did enjoy the cheers from the sidelines. As a DS, you don’t get to experience that quite as much, because you’ve got the window closed."

De Vries agrees with her compatriot regarding the cheering from the sidelines. "My parents, boyfriend and friends stand in the same spot every year, just before the Bemelerberg. That’s really nice", says the 32-year-old rider. "First and foremost, it’s cool that we have a classic in the Netherlands, but it’s also a fantastic race to ride. The strongest rider doesn’t always win; it’s a tactical game."

With Marianne Vos, Team Visma | Lease a Bike has someone who knows what it’s like to win the Amstel Gold Race. The Brabant native, who finished second in Paris-Roubaix last weekend, won the Dutch classic in 2021, among other years, thanks to a strong finish. "If you have Marianne at the start, it makes sense to go for the win", Van Emden says. "We have a very strong squad overall. We’re not just relying on Marianne. With Femke, Sarah Van Dam, Lieke Nooijen, Viktória Chladoňová and Rosita Reijnhout, we’ve got several strong riders."

De Vries, who finished sixteenth last year, knows from experience that there are several ways to win the race. "Last year, I was in a crazy breakaway group with Marion Bunel, from which Mischa Bredewold managed to win. It’s important to stay alert all day and jump on the move if a dangerous group breaks away. Especially from the local laps onwards, we really need to be in the mix. If everything stays together, Marianne can take a chance on the sprint."

After a few weeks of training, De Vries is ready for her fifth appearance in the Amstel Gold Race. It will be her first race since 22 March, when she finished ninth in the Giro dell’Appennino. "I feel well. I’m really motivated to race again and seize the opportunities that come my way. I’m happy with how things have gone so far, but I hope things will go our way a bit more often in the coming period. In any case, there are three really good opportunities coming up."