Skjelmose shadows him again, but this time Evenepoel is strongest in the Amstel Gold Race
CyclingSunday, 19 April 2026 at 17:22
Remco Evenepoel has won the Amstel Gold Race. The Belgian from Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe rode to the line together with defending champion Mattias Skjelmose, before this time finishing it off convincingly against the crafty Dane. Behind the front duo, Benoît Cosnefroy took third place, albeit at a considerable distance.
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For Dutch cycling fans, no other race quite produces the same feeling as the Amstel Gold Race. Since 1966, the Limburg classic has been an unmissable fixture on the international cycling calendar, with a roll of honor featuring several of the sport’s biggest names. Eddy Merckx, Joop Zoetemelk, Johan Museeuw, Philippe Gilbert... The legendary Jan Raas remains the record holder with five victories.
Defending champion Mattias Skjelmose was back again, as was last year’s third-place finisher Remco Evenepoel. The Belgian was the top favorite, especially since other top riders were absent. Some were missing through injury — Isaac Del Toro, Ben Healy, Juan Ayuso, Thibau Nys and others — while others, such as Tadej Pogačar, Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert and Paul Seixas, had opted for a different program. Also significant: this was Leo van Vliet’s final edition as race director, with Tom Dumoulin set to take over.
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Starting from Maastricht, the riders had to wait a little before the first climbs arrived, but before that point nine riders had already gone clear. Huub Artz of Intermarché-Wanty was joined by Filip Maciejuk of Movistar, Marco Frigo of NSN, Warren Barguil of Picnic PostNL, Xabier Azparren of Pinarello-Q36.5, Joseba López of Caja Rural, Siebe Deweirdt of Flanders-Baloise, Valentin Retailleau of TotalEnergies and Abram Stockman of Unibet Rose Rockets.
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Red Bull controls in service of Evenepoel
That ninth group got a lead of almost five minutes, but Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe soon took responsibility, with Dutch champion Danny van Poppel among the key engines at the front. That helped bring the gap down slightly after the first hills of the day. The difference was then held at around four minutes. Once the race had passed the halfway point, the pace went up, and the breakaway quickly saw its advantage begin to shrink.
By then, rain had started to fall, causing problems in the peloton. Paul Lapeira of Decathlon CMA CGM, an outsider for the day, hit the deck, as did Darren van Bekkum of XDS Astana. Dorian Godon of INEOS Grenadiers was also distanced. Evenepoel’s teammates continued to increase the pressure: with 85 kilometers to go, he still had four teammates in front of him.
Tim Wellens then faded, with the Belgian champion returning to racing after his heavy crash earlier in the spring. Julian Alaphilippe of Tudor also dropped away. At the head of the race, riders continued to fall away from the break, until only two remained: Artz and Frigo. Pepijn Reinderink of Soudal Quick-Step tried to bridge across from the peloton, but the leading pair gained more time again. It was not made easy for the Soudal Quick-Step rider.
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Jorgenson crashes out heavily from a promising position
The Dutchman was caught by the peloton with 50 kilometers to go, as the pace rose again heading into the finale. Things were already going full gas on the Gulperberg, where Frigo rode clear of Artz. Jan Tratnik then emptied himself on the front, but it was Romain Grégoire of Groupama-FDJ who opened the real hostilities. Kévin Vauquelin of INEOS Grenadiers responded, and Evenepoel went with him. Skjelmose and Matteo Jorgenson of Visma | Lease a Bike were also there.
Disaster struck soon after. Vauquelin slid out, taking Jorgenson and the recently caught Artz down with him. The latter two in particular looked in a bad way. It meant Evenepoel, Grégoire and Skjelmose closed the gap to Frigo together, catching the Italian with 35 kilometers remaining. The chasing group, around ten riders strong, was 25 seconds behind at that point.
The leading quartet then headed toward the Keutenberg. There, Evenepoel’s plan was clear: the Belgian pressed on hard from the foot of the climb. It was a stranglehold, but his two breakaway companions were still able to hang on. The gap to the chasers did not grow either. A group containing Benoît Cosnefroy of UAE Team Emirates-XRG, Mauri Vansevenant of Soudal Quick-Step and Albert Withen Philipsen of Lidl-Trek kept the trio in sight.
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Evenepoel and Skjelmose go again
Once again, it was Evenepoel who accelerated on the climb, this time on the Cauberg. There he managed to ride Grégoire off his wheel, but Skjelmose, just like last year, remained glued to the Olympic champion like a shadow. The pair began the final lap with a dozen seconds over the Frenchman, while the chasers lost a lot of time on the Cauberg. At 50 seconds down, their chances were fading fast.
It was not simply a case of Skjelmose following. The Dane showed he had superb legs and took turns on the flat with his breakaway companion. The chasing group had been joined by a strong Emiel Verstrynge of Alpecin-Premier Tech, while his 20-year-old teammate just failed to make the crossing. Mauro Schmid of Jayco AlUla also linked up with that group, which brought Grégoire back.
But the two at the front had gone. They kept their powder dry all the way to the Cauberg, and the advantage was almost two minutes. No Pogačar this time, but a two-rider duel. On the final climb, Evenepoel again chose not to attack, leaving it to a sprint instead. He forced Skjelmose onto the front, then launched early. This time, the Dane had no answer: Evenepoel won.
Results Amstel Gold Race 2026
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Latest Comments
- Here is a novel idea......it's a road bike race, stick to smooth asphalt courses! Cobble is like mild off-road cross riding!!!!Germanrazor14-04-2026
- To lose a race like that on a mechanical problem in this day and age is unforgivable. Why aren't all riders using the same (interchangeable) gear? It is the job of the team manager to manage and reduce risk variables. The fact that he not only didn't pick up on the potential issue but actually ok'd it is just madness.fatehasfans13-04-2026
- Rider X, y and z? Could you update?yaNzKEWL21-03-2026
- Can anyone help me understand the thinking behind the two punishments? Are the commissaires saying you get thrown out of the race for a second inadvertent disposal of a bidon (even to the delight of fans) but that as long as you can afford it you can show off your phalangeal cuticles all day long on international TV? Aking for a friend.packfiller7112-03-2026
- It's a bit embarrassing that. Isn't the main sponsor supposed to keep them at 36.5 ?tomjacques03-03-2026
- They were close to cracking a very tired Tadej that wasn't fully focused on the TdF with a team of riders focused solely on cracking Tadej. And if they cracked him, he would have still won. Tadej won't be racing the giro this year. It'll be an even easier win for him.Veganpotter09-02-2026
- Nice!Bea22-01-2026
- Those events are mental rest for him. Fun, without expectations. *Sagan lost his abilities because he gained weight and got lazy. Pogi will likely retire before that has a chance at happening.Veganpotter14-12-2025
- Ah, the consequences of riding for Israel.Veganpotter11-12-2025
- Pidcock could follow everyone but Pogi while finishing 3rd. No second place rider this season😃Veganpotter16-11-2025
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