Valverde Mountain | Episode 15

April 20 | In this episode of The Cycling Podcast, Lionel Birnie and Daniel Friebe discuss the Amstel Gold Race before handing over to Richard Moore and Orla Chennaoui at the Mur de Huy in Belgium, where Flèche Wallonne took place.

Both Lionel and Daniel agree that the course changes at the Amstel Gold Race shook things up, although Philippe Gilbert, the architect of a stunning winning at the Tour of Flanders earlier this month, must again take all the credit.

With Gilbert now set to miss Liège-Bastogne-Liège on Sunday, what did the Amstel Gold Race tell us about the form of the other contenders ahead of the final spring Classic of the season?

After Lionel and Daniel's analysis of Sunday's race and look ahead to the weekend, it's time to cross to the Ardennes where Richard and Orla witnessed both the men's and women's races, which turned out to be convincing repeat victories for Alejandro Valverde (fourth year in a row) and Anna Van der Breggen (third year in a row).

Between them, Richard and Orla spoke to Lizzie Deignan, Michal Kwiatkowski, Samuel Sanchez, Michael Woods and Serge Pauwels, but there can be no doubt that the Mur de Huy must now be known as Valverde Mountain.

The Cycling Podcast is supported by Rapha and Science In Sport.