Phil Booth took on the Amstel Gold Toerversie, the sportive version of the Dutch spring classic based in Valkenburg in the south of country and taken on by over 30,000 participants.

Having previously ridden the 165km event in warm spring sunshine, this year Phil took one of the different routes heading north around Maastricht and faced very different weather conditions; with the temperature little more than a few degrees above freezing he faced several hailstorms and rain, strong winds, with only odd breaks of sunny and dry weather.

11 climbs were included this year, including the one cobbled climb, the most difficult and well know climb is the Cauberg which is the final climb and with a gradient of 13% one which reduces many participants to walking, however Phil successfully took on all of the climbs, and completed the event in a little over 5 hours, good going given the poor weather.

Phil goes again next Saturday in the Paris Roubaix Challenge in northern France.