Peter Sagan to return to action at Amstel Gold Race just a week after winning Paris-Roubaix

You might think that Peter Sagan deserves a well-earned break after winning Paris-Roubaix on Sunday, but the three-time world champion will return to action in just a few days time at the Amstel Gold Race.

Fresh from his Roubaix triumph, Sagan will lead the Bora-Hansgrohe team at the first of the three Ardennes Classics, with Marcus Burghardt the only other Bora rider to stay in the team from last weekend.

Sagan will be joined on the start line by a number of the other riders who were contesting the sharp-end of Paris-Roubaix on Sunday, including four-time former winner and defending champion Philippe Gilbert who leads Quick-Step Floors, Greg Van Avermaet who leads BMC Racing, and Sep Vanmarcke who leads EF Education First-Drapac.

>>> Amstel Gold Race 2018: Everything you need to know

However there will also be a cast of riders specialising in the hillier races and stage races, including Alejandro Valverde (Movistar), Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky), and Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida).

Sagan has taken part in the Amstel Gold race on the three previous occasions, including a third-place finish in 2012. However this is the first time he has returned to the Dutch race since 2013 as he has put an increased focus on the cobbled Classics earlier in the spring.

After racing in the Amstel Gold Race on Sunday, Sagan is not expected to take part in any of the other Ardennes Classics in La Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, with the next race on his calendar expected to be the Tour of California, which starts in Long Beach on May 13.

Taking place on Sunday, April 15, the Amstel Gold Race consists of a 260km course starting in Maastricht and finishing just a few miles down the road in Berg en Terblijt. The riders cover multiple loops and circuit in the hills in the far south of the Dutch province of Limburg with no fewer than 35 climbs.