It was held on 15 April 2012 over a distance of 256.5 kilometres (159.4 miles) and was the eleventh race of the 2012 UCI World Tour season.

The race was won by Astana rider Enrico Gasparotto after outsprinting several of his rivals to the finish on the Cauberg; it was his first Classics victory,[1] and the first by an Italian rider in a one-day classic since Damiano Cunego won the 2008 Giro di Lombardia.

[4] Two-time defending race winner Philippe Gilbert (BMC Racing Team) finished in the same time as Sagan, but was classified in sixth place.

[5] As the Amstel Gold Race was a UCI World Tour event, all 18 UCI ProTeams were invited automatically and obligated to send a squad.

Six other squads were given wildcard places into the race,[6][7][8] and as such, formed the event's 24-team peloton.