Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) hopes to emulate last year's race program, which included a stunning victory in the Amstel Gold Race Ladies Edition.

The Polish all-rounder believes her ability to maintain high wattage on punchy climbs will give her an advantage in the Ardennes Classic.

"I did very well last year," Niewiadoma told Cycling News.

"My mind is fully prepared for the hectic and tense spring classics races in Belgium and the Netherlands."

Niewiadoma will start her season this month at Omloop Het Niewsblad before taking on the second race of the Women's World Tour, Strade Bianche, in March. This Italian race, held on a loop that includes gravel roads and short climbs around Siena, is one of her favorite events. She has been on the podium four times, but has never won the Italian classic.

"I came close to winning many times at Strade Bianche, but it never happened," she said. 'So that will be my first little goal. The Ardennes is a very important race for me."

Last year, Niewiadoma finished third in Strade Bianche, then went on to compete in the spring classic in full, winning the Amstel Gold Race.

She attacked on the final climb of the Cauberg, jumping out of a 15-man breakaway and holding off the solo runner Annemieke van Fluten (Mitchelton-Scott).

Niewiadoma said she excels on courses that require harsh weather, difficult terrain, and tough race tactics.

"I feel that I am best at repeating efforts and intervals over and over without getting really tired," Niewiadoma explained.

"In the first hour of the race you are an average rider, not the fastest or the strongest. Even in the last hour of the race, when everyone else is tired, I'm just as fresh. I'm not that tired in a one-day race."

"I think that's why I won in Amstel. We had a lot of intervals beforehand. I felt like I still had the same power after accelerating over the Cauberg, whereas a lot of the guys were already tired and couldn't maintain the same watts."

The Amstel Gold Race Ladies Edition will use the same course as last year: 127 km from Maastricht around the hills near Valkenburg.

The organizers of the Amstel Gold Race Ladies Edition have announced that on April 19 the Dutch announced the 23 teams that will take the start line in Maastricht, the Netherlands, on April 19. Fifteen teams have earned automatic start rights, four more than last year.

The UCI has introduced a new two-team format this year, with eight teams receiving World Team licenses: Canyon Slam, Yale BTC Ljubljana, CCC Liv, Mitchelton Scott, Team Sunweb, Trek Segafredo, FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope, and Movistar Team. A total of eight teams will compete in this year's competition.

In addition, there are seven teams ranked second in the continental standings that are automatically invited according to their UCI world ranking. These teams are Boels Dolmans, Parkhotel Valkenburg, Ceratizit-WNT, Valcar-Travel&Service, Bigla-Katusha, Lotto Soudal Ladies, Cogeas Mettler Look

Race director Lontien van Moorsel has given wildcards to eight Continental teams. Three teams will be from Belgium: Multum Accountants-LSK Ladies, Coltcini-Van Eyck Sport, and Chevalmeire Cycling from Belgium. Two teams from the Netherlands have received wild cards: Biehler Krush Pro and NXTG Racing.

Also in the lineup are CAMS-Tifosi (Great Britain), Astana Women's Team (Kazakhstan), and Hitec Products-Birk Sport (Norway).

"Women's cycling is becoming increasingly professional and we will contribute to this by recognizing world-class ladies from the Amstel Gold Race. The women's race promises to be on the same beautiful course as the men's, plus good organization, realistic prize money and start money, not to mention ample media attention," Van Moorsel said on the event website.

Cycling News will have full coverage of the men's and women's Amstel Gold Race, including reports, news, and interviews.