REMCO STRIKES BACK IN SPRINT VICTORY OVER MATTIAS SKJELMOSE
Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quickstep) took victory in Amstel Gold at only his second attempt. In a similar scenario to the 2025 finish, the Belgian reached the finishline in Valkenberg in the company of Lidl-Trek’s Mattias Skjelmose – only without Tadej Pogacar to contend with. This time round Evenepoel would not be outpunched, forcing the Danish rider to lead out before coming round and sailing clear to victory.
Evenepoel was big favourite in the hilly Dutch classic, seen as the curtain-raiser to Ardennes week. His Red Bull team-mates took on the task of controlling the race from the outset. The nine riders that formed the breakaway – Huub Artz (Lotto Intermarche), Filip Maciejuk (Movistar), Marco Frigo (NSN Cycling), Warren Barguil (Picnic PostNL), Xabier Mikel Azparren (Pinarello Q3.65), Joseba Lopez (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Siebe Deweirdt (Flanders-Baloise), Valentin Retailleau (TotalEnergies), Abram Stockman (Unibet Rose Rockets) – were allowed to build a maximum advantage of 4’30. Halfway through the 257km race this had been cut by almost three minutes, as Evenepoel’s team-mate Nico Denz made the racing hard.
The first ascent of the famous Cauberg saw the break reduced by two-thirds, with Frigo pushing on and Artz and Azparren the only riders able to hold on. As a trio they maintained a lead of 90 seconds until Azparren too was dropped with 65km left. Frigo became the last man standing a further 15km down the road. With most expecting a move from Remco, on the Kruisberg, at 42km left, it was Roman Gregoire (Groupama – FDJ United) who attacked the bunch. Evenepoel was forced to follow, with Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike), Kevin Vauquelin and defending champion Mattias Skjelmose the only other riders able to keep up. Vauquelin and Jorgenson did not last long, as the former slid out on a slippery left bend and took out the American who fell down hard.
Evenepoel, Gregoire and Skjelmose pressed on as three, while Frigo held out for as long as he could. He lasted until the Keuntenberg, but its steep gradients meant he could not survive Evenepoel’s relentless power. The penultimate time up the Cauberg, the Belgian’s watts proved too much for Gregoire too.
Now a duo, Skjelmose and Evenepoel collaborated well enough to ensure victory would belong to one of them, putting a minute into a chase group led by Benoit Cosnefroy (UAE Team Emirates XRG) and the indefatigable Marco Frigo.
Although Evenepoel might have been expected to try to drop Skjelmose before the finale, having been outsprinted by him a year earlier, he had enough confidence to leave it to the sprint. After coaxing the Dane through to the front at the Flamme Rouge, the Olympic champion waited until 300m to go, and kicked with a power that Skjelmose simply couldn’t match.
Cosnefroy won the sprint for third, coming out the eight rider group that finished almost two minutes down.
Image credit: Getty Images