Amstel Gold preview: Stacked men's roster features Sagan, Valverde

The Amstel Gold Race starts on Sunday. Peter Sagan and Greg Van Avermaet are among the riders who are expected to take part. The route is lumpy and has been tweaked in recent years to spice it up. The start list is not changed. Philippe Gilbert won the race last year.

Amstel Gold Race runs 263 km from Maastricht to Berg en Terblijt. The route contains 35 climbs, many of them repeat ascents. Last year's race saw a change to the route, but organizers kept the same changes for the 2018 edition.

Amstel Gold is taking place on Sunday. The final hour of racing is difficult for the riders. There are several climbs between the 40-kilometer-to-go mark and the finish.

This year's Amstel Gold Race starts with a stacked roster of riders. The defending champion Gilbert is the obvious favorite. Quick-Step has a number of promising riders, including Julian Alaphilippe and Michal Kwiatkowski. Movistar's Valverde has been runner-up twice in the last five years.   The riders to watch are: Gilbert, Van Avermaet, Simon Gerrans and Dylan Teuns. They will race on the cobbles. It's a long day of climbing for the riders and they will need to be on top form. There are no favorites.

Sagan is the main attraction at the start line. Jay McCarthy is a dark horse to surprise some of the heavyweights in a reduced sprint.

Valverde turns 38 in two weeks. He has a prime opportunity to win his first Amstel title on Sunday. Kwiatkowski and Gilbert are also in the mix.