'I was riding for the podium' - Mattias Skjelmose pulls off shock Amstel Gold Race win after reeling back Tadej Pogačar attack

Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) pulled off the biggest and most stunning victory of his career at Amstel Gold Race, pipping the world champion Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates XRG) and the Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) in a three-way sprint.

The Dane initially led a valiant bid to claw back a solo move by Pogačar, who attacked with over 40km to go. Skjelmose then rode in tandem with Evenepoel, reeling in a 30-second gap to the Slovenian, before coming from behind to beat the pair in the finale.

“I was riding for the podium,” the 24-year-old said afterwards, wearing a shocked expression. “Already the podium would be a really good result for me. I tried to keep the group going so they didn’t come back from behind. Of course, you sprint for the best result, but I thought I was going to cramp, or see them go into the horizon.”

It took a photo-finish image to decide the race winner. Having won by the width of a wheel rim, Skjelmose broke down in tears beyond the finish line, huddled by his Lidl-Trek team.

Afterwards, the Dane dedicated the victory to his grandfather, who died last month.

"It means so much," he said. "I really wanted to give him a win, so this is for him."

How it happened

After the rugged cobbles of the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, the sharp, punchy climbs of the Ardennes arrived on Sunday. Thirty-four ascents in total were on the menu at Sunday’s Amstel Gold Race, a 255.9km slog across the south of the Netherlands, culminating in the newly-placed Cauberg kicker.

An eight-rider move formed in the first half of the race, including pairings from Lotto and Unibet Tietema Rockets. The breakaway nudged out a more than four-minute advantage, which quickly dropped away in the second half of the race, and was cancelled out entirely inside 70km to go.

A period of tension then followed in the bunch. First EF Education-Oatly took control, then Lidl-Trek, rolling at more than 44km/h through the Dutch hills.

With 48km remaining, sensing moves were imminent, Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor) kickstarted the finale with an attack. Pogačar immediately pounced on the Frenchman’s wheel, and sent a nervous ripple among the chasers behind him.

Still seated, Pogačar quietly turned the screw on Alaphilippe, and drifted away up the road. “It’s been a long season so far for me,” the Slovenian said ahead of the race. “Let’s see today if the legs are still good.” Clearly they were. Within a few hundred metres, he was alone and on the move. A 10-second advantage tripled to 30 over the next climb.

Unwilling to accept defeat, Skjelmose made the first bid to try and close the gap. Evenepoel then joined the Dane, leading a tandem pursuit on just his second race day this year after returning from injury.

With 20km to go, the world champion’s lead had dropped to 20 seconds, Evenepoel making the difference on the penultimate ascent of the Cauberg.

Pogačar's rainbow jersey, a visible target on his back, then acted as a dangling carrot for the chasers. Ten kilometres further down the road, the gap was back in single digits, and with 8km to go, the trio came together.

The final ascent of the Cauberg – a 1.2km climb that topped out with 2km to go – was ridden conservatively, all three banking on the final sprint.

"I tried to have a bit of a gap and go on the right, because the wind came from the left," Skjelmose said afterwards. "But Remco went right, and then Tadej went right as well, so I had to go on the left side. In the end, I don’t know what happened."

What happened was that the Dane outfoxed them both, surprising his opponents, the fans at the roadside, and also himself with his turn of pace. "I didn't believe it. It was like something was wrong," he said, stunned. In the first of the Ardennes Classics, victory was his.

Results

Amstel Gold Race 2025 (255.9km)

1. Mattias Skjelmose (Den) Lidl-Trek, in 5:49:58
2. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates-XRG
3. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step, at same time
4. Wout van Aert (Bel) Visma-Lease a Bike, +34s
5. Michael Matthews (Aus) Jayco AlUla
6. Louis Barré (Fra) Intermarché-Wanty
7. Romain Grégoire (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
8. Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Visma-Lease a Bike
9. Tom Pidcock (GBr) Q36.5 Pro Cycling
10. Ben Healy (Irl) EF Education-EasyPost, all at same time