One year after coming up short, Remco Evenepoel outsprinted reigning champion Mattias Skjelmose after the pair went clear with 22 km to go.
Remco Evenepoel had wrongs to right after he and Tadej Pogačar under-estimated Mattias Skjelmose at the 2025 Amstel Gold Race, but even with last year’s demons riding on his slim shoulders, the Belgian had confidence in his sprint as he rode to the line with his Danish rival, and this time, he was rewarded with victory – his first major one-day win since the Olympics, and first WorldTour since San Sebastián in 2023.
Erstwhile rivals Evenepoel and Skjelmose had responded to an attack by Romain Grégoire 42 km from the finish which had broken a handful of favourites off the peloton, with two riders from the nine-man breakaway still up ahead, just about. A nasty crash for Kévin Vauquelin, Matteo Jorgenson and breakaway rider Huub Artz then allowed Grégoire, Evenepoel and Skjelmose to go it alone. The trio soon caught and passed last surviving attacker Marco Frigo, and Grégoire’s challenge ended on the Cauberg, leaving the Belgian-Danish duo to their sprint rematch.
The race for the last step of the podium unfolded almost two minutes after the leaders, with Frigo trying a late flyer but succumbing to the charging group. In the end, Benoît Cosnefroy was able to secure the second Amstel podium finish of his career having finished second to Michał Kwiatkowski in 2022.
[race_result id=9 stage_id=0 count=10 gc=0 year=2026]
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