'The sprint I did was more or less perfect': Remco Evenepoel reads the wind to take revenge on Skjelmose at Amstel Gold

'The sprint I did was more or less perfect': Remco Evenepoel reads the wind to take revenge on Skjelmose at Amstel Gold

Evenepoel reversed last year's result against Mattias Skjelmose in Valkenburg, collaborating with the Dane before outsprinting him to take the 60th edition of the Ardennes opener.

By Tim Bonville-Ginn · · 5 min read

Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) won the 60th Amstel Gold Race on April 19, beating defending champion Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) in a two-up sprint in Valkenburg. Benoît Cosnefroy (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) took third, 1:59 behind, after the front pair had built an insurmountable gap across the Limburg hills.

Evenepoel finished in 5:59:40, one second ahead of Skjelmose, completing a direct reversal of the 2025 edition in which the Dane had outsprinted both Evenepoel and Tadej Pogačar to claim the biggest win of his career.

The decisive move came after the pair dropped Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ United) on the final climbs and then shared the work to hold off the chase. Rather than marking each other, Evenepoel and Skjelmose collaborated, turning a selective attack into a sustained escape that left the rest of the field racing for third.

"It's a completely different moment in the season." Evenepoel said in his post-race press conference. "So I think my sprint just got better than compared to last year.

"I just arrived with more fresh legs into the last lap here."

Evenepoel said the win vindicated weeks of unrealised form.

“To win a big race like this one is always a good feeling,” he said. “With the feeling and the shape that I had in the last weeks, it always just didn’t come out. So it’s just a good feeling to win this one.”

He added that the parcours “really suits me… maybe one of the most beautiful parcours in the whole season,” noting he had also taken the junior edition in the same area earlier in his career.

In 2025, Evenepoel had helped chase down Pogačar but arrived at the finish without enough acceleration to contest the sprint. This time, against the same opponent on the same roads, he had the legs to close it out.

Results

Apr 19 • 257.2km

Velora
PosRiderTeamTime
🥇
Remco Evenepoel
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE5:59:40
🥈
Mattias Skjelmose Jennow Jensen
LIDL-TREK+01
🥉
Benoit Cosnefroy
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+1:59
4
Romain Gregoire
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+1:59
5
Emiel Verstrynge
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+1:59
6
Mauro Schmid
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+1:59
7
Mauri Vansevenant
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+1:59
8
Albert Philipsen
LIDL-TREK+1:59
9
Ewen Costiou
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+1:59
10
Marco Frigo
NSN CYCLING TEAM+1:59
11
Alex Baudin
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+2:46
12
Ion Izaguirre Insausti
COFIDIS+2:53
13
Dorian Godon
INEOS GRENADIERS+2:55
14
Tibor del Grosso
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+2:55
15
Pello Bilbao Lopez de Armentia
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+2:55
16
Alex Aranburu Deva
COFIDIS+2:55
17
Stefano Oldani
CAJA RURAL-SEGUROS RGA+2:55
18
Gal Glivar
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+2:55
19
Davide Toneatti
XDS ASTANA TEAM+2:55
20
Alex Molenaar
CAJA RURAL-SEGUROS RGA+2:55
21
Mathieu Burgaudeau
TOTALENERGIES+2:55
22
Jenno Berckmoes
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+2:55
23
Fernando Barcelo Aragon
CAJA RURAL-SEGUROS RGA+2:55
24
Clément Champoussin
XDS ASTANA TEAM+2:55
25
Marcel Camprubi Pijuan
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+2:55
26
Andrea Vendrame
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+2:55
27
Roger Adria Oliveras
MOVISTAR TEAM+2:55
28
Quinn Simmons
LIDL-TREK+2:55
29
Georg Zimmermann
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+2:55
30
Simone Velasco
XDS ASTANA TEAM+2:55
31
Valentin Madouas
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+2:55
32
Brady Gilmore
NSN CYCLING TEAM+2:55
33
Quentin Pacher
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+2:55
34
Jelle Johannink
UNIBET ROSE ROCKETS+2:55
35
Lander Loockx
UNIBET ROSE ROCKETS+2:55
36
Milan Lanhove
TEAM FLANDERS - BALOISE+2:55
37
Francesco Busatto
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+2:55
38
Natnael Tesfatsion
MOVISTAR TEAM+2:55
39
Andreas Leknessund
UNO-X MOBILITY+2:55
40
Dylan Teuns
COFIDIS+2:55
41
Pascal Eenkhoorn
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+2:55
42
Senne Thonnon
TEAM FLANDERS - BALOISE+2:55
43
Antoine L'Hote
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+2:55
44
Maximilian Schachmann
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+2:55
45
Diego Ulissi
XDS ASTANA TEAM+2:55
46
James Shaw
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+2:55
47
Alexandre Delettre
TOTALENERGIES+2:55
48
Adam Ťoupalík
UNIBET ROSE ROCKETS+2:55
49
Felix Grossschartner
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+2:55
50
Kévin Vauquelin
INEOS GRENADIERS+2:55
51
Søren Kragh Andersen
LIDL-TREK+3:12
52
Fabian Weiss
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+3:22
53
Alessandro Covi
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+3:22
54
Joris Delbove
TOTALENERGIES+3:32
55
Kévin Geniets
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+3:32
56
Jack Leonard Haig
INEOS GRENADIERS+3:45
57
Senna Remijn
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+3:45
58
Bauke Mollema
LIDL-TREK+3:49
59
Dylan van Baarle
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+4:10
60
Matej Mohoric
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+4:22
61
Alexander Kamp
UNO-X MOBILITY+4:51
62
Lukas Nerurkar
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+5:10
63
Anders Foldager
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+5:10
64
Krists Neilands
NSN CYCLING TEAM+5:10
65
Quinten Hermans
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+5:10
66
Vincent van Hemelen
TEAM FLANDERS - BALOISE+7:36
67
Fredrik Dversnes
UNO-X MOBILITY+7:36
68
Luca van Boven
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+7:36
69
Toon Aerts
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+7:36
70
Michiel Lambrecht
TEAM FLANDERS - BALOISE+7:36
71
Mathis le Berre
TOTALENERGIES+7:36
72
Eduard Prades Reverter
CAJA RURAL-SEGUROS RGA+7:36
73
Joan Bou Company
CAJA RURAL-SEGUROS RGA+7:36
74
Robin Donzé
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+7:39
75
Attila Valter
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+7:39
76
Lorenzo Germani
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+7:39
77
Edoardo Zambanini
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+7:39
78
Lorenzo Rota
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+7:43
79
Pavel Sivakov
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+7:43
80
Xandro Meurisse
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+7:43
81
Haimar Etxeberria Ansalas
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+7:43
82
Gianni Vermeersch
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+7:43
83
Frank van den Broek
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+7:43
84
Jordan Labrosse
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+7:43
85
Axel Laurance
INEOS GRENADIERS+7:43
86
Andreas Lorentz Kron
UNO-X MOBILITY+7:43
87
Davide de Pretto
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+7:43
88
Brandon Smith Rivera Vargas
INEOS GRENADIERS+7:43
89
Jan Tratnik
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+7:43
90
Ilan van Wilder
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+8:25
91
Rick Pluimers
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+8:56
92
Elias Maris
TEAM FLANDERS - BALOISE+8:56
93
Bjoern Koerdt
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+8:56
94
Matthew Dinham
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+8:56
95
Frits Biesterbos
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+8:56
96
Hugo Houle
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+8:56
97
Anthon Charmig
UNO-X MOBILITY+9:27
98
Filip Maciejuk
MOVISTAR TEAM+10:21
99
Floris van Tricht
NSN CYCLING TEAM+10:21
100
Axel Zingle
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+10:21
101
Emils Liepins
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+10:21
102
Filippo Fiorelli
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+10:21
103
Tobias Bayer
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+10:21
104
Pau Marti Soriano
NSN CYCLING TEAM+10:21
105
Jan Maas
COFIDIS+10:21
106
Gonzalo Serrano Rodriguez
MOVISTAR TEAM+10:21
107
Abram Stockman
UNIBET ROSE ROCKETS+10:21
108
Pau Miquel Delgado
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+10:21
109
Paul Ourselin
COFIDIS+10:21
110
Enzo Paleni
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+10:21
111
Menno Huising
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+10:21
112
Sandy Dujardin
TOTALENERGIES+10:21
113
Fran Miholjević
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+10:21
114
Nicola Conci
XDS ASTANA TEAM+10:21
115
Sergio Meris
UNIBET ROSE ROCKETS+10:21
116
Cedrik Bakke Christophersen
UNIBET ROSE ROCKETS+10:21
117
Nico Denz
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+10:21
118
Tim van Dijke
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+10:21
119
Jasha Sütterlin
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+10:21
120
Anders Halland Johannessen
UNO-X MOBILITY+10:21
121
Raul Garcia Pierna
MOVISTAR TEAM+10:21
122
Jacopo Mosca
LIDL-TREK+10:21
123
Filippo Baroncini
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+10:21
124
Leander van Hautegem
TEAM FLANDERS - BALOISE+10:21
125
Pavel Novák
MOVISTAR TEAM+10:21
126
Sam Maisonobe
COFIDIS+10:21
127
Bob Jungels
INEOS GRENADIERS+10:21
128
Alexy Faure Prost
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+10:21
129
Anders Skaarseth
UNO-X MOBILITY+10:21
130
Sjoerd Bax
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+10:21
131
Noa Isidore
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+10:21
132
Vito Braet
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+10:21
133
Huub Artz
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+10:21
134
Pepijn Reinderink
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+10:28

Without Pogačar, Van der Poel or Van Aert to share the workload, Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe had to police the race themselves.

“We needed to take control of the race – that’s the biggest difference,” Evenepoel said. “That was the only bit of pressure I felt, to finish off the work of my teammates. In the end, we won, and we have nothing to regret.”

Response to crash

After the acceleration from Grégoire, which drew out Evenepoel and Skjelmose, as well as Matteo Jorgenson (Visma | Lease a Bike), Kevin Vauquelin (Ineos Grenadiers) and Mathieu Burgaudeau (TotalEnergies) the group started pushing all the pressure on Evenepoel. The Olympic champion took this on and pushed to create a gap.

In doing so, the riders came to a slippery corner on the newly wet roads with Vauquelin overcooking the angle into the corner and sliding out, taking Jorgenson and Huub Artz (Lotto-Intermarche), who was caught from the breakaway, down with him as well as forcing Burgaudeau to stop.

All but one of the riders carried on, but none saw the front of the race again. Jorgenson was the unlucky one as he came down hard falling over the top of Vauquelin. It was his first race back after a long training camp in Tenerife where he missed all of the Cobbled Classics to focus entirely on the Ardennes Classics.

“The attack of Grégoire was really hard on the Kruisberg, so I knew he’d gone all in,” Evenepoel said. “On every single climb I put a really hard pace to put the guys on the limit. With my attack on the Cauberg, Grégoire dropped and Skjelmose was in big difficulties. From then I knew I had a big chance in the sprint as well, so I tried to take him with me to the finish line and still have a few moments of recovery in the wheel.”

"The attack of Grégoire was really hard on the Kruisberg, so I knew he'd gone all in," Evenepoel said. "On every single climb I put a really hard pace to put the guys on the limit. With my attack on the Kouberg, Grégoire dropped and Skjelmose was in big difficulties. From then I knew I had a big chance in the sprint as well, so I tried to take him with me to the finish line and still have a few moments of recovery in the wheel."

In the post race press conference, Evenepoel added: "Crashed happen, that's also why I took the lead in the descent. I knew the roads were a little bit wet and there were a lot of lefts and rights, so I didn't want to take the risk and be in someone's wheel. The outcome was that it was a smart thing to do... I just hope the guys are all okay."

On the run-in, Evenepoel said he read the wind before the line. “With 200 metres to go the wind was coming a bit from the right side," he said. "So I went immediately to the left side again – he would need to pass me full in the wind. The sprint I did was more or less perfect, if you would ask me.”

Cover image credit: Maximilian Fries / Red Bull Content Pool

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Tim Bonville-Ginn

Pro cycling contributor

Tim Bonville-Ginn is a freelance writer who has worked in cycling for well over a decade with his articles being featured across publications such as Cyclingnews, Cycling Weekly, Cyclist, Rouleur, Eurosport, Road cc, Domestique, and more.

As well as writing, Tim has worked as a social media and press manager for professional teams Human Powered Health, Global 6, and Saint Piran across Europe as well as commentating on races such as the African Continental Championships, Tour de Feminin and multiple rounds of the British road and circuit series for Golazo and Monument Cycling.

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