Pogačar caught, then beaten
The three riders rode together after Skjelmose and Evenepoel caught Pogačar with 8.2km left to ride in the 255.9km race from Maastricht to Berg en Terblijt. That in itself was an upset as Pogačar had only been caught once before when riding on his own with a sizable lead, in a stage of last year’s Tour de France, by Jonas Vingegaard (Visma–Lease a Bike) – and that had been because he had neglected to properly fuel himself.
On Sunday, spurred by an attack by Julian Alaphilippe, the Slovenian had taken off on the slope of the Gulperberg (1,000m @ 4.7%), with 48km to go. The Frenchman was dropped 6km later on the climb of the Kruisberg (500m at 9.4%) and Pogačar eventually built a lead of 34 seconds to the peloton, as it looked as if the race was as good as over – even after Skjelmose took after him at the 32km mark.
The Dane made some progress, reducing the gap to 25 seconds, but then fell back again. The race changed completely when Evenepoel burst out of the peloton with 26.9km left to race and joined Skjelmose 1km later, when the gap to the world champion had grown to 36 seconds. It would never grow larger, for with Evenepoel leading the chase on the Amstel’s short, steep climbs, the two made slow but undeniable progress until they caught up to a visibly tiring Pogačar and kicked off the thrilling, and thrillingly surprising, endgame – which ended with Skjelmose pipping Pogačar by half a wheel at the line and a tired Evenepoel finishing third.
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Unbelievable!
Skjelmose found the result as hard to believe as all cycling fans must have. Asked on TNT to describe what happened in that dramatic sprint, the winner said, “I don’t know. I didn’t believe it. I really didn’t believe it.” He also said that he had just been racing for a podium finish in that final kilometer. “I thought I would cramp up or see them [race away] on the horizon.”
The 2023 Tour de Suisse winner added that it had been a difficult year for him. “I lost my granddad a little more than a month ago,” he said, with tears in his eyes. “This is for him.”
Clearly disappointed, Pogačar said, “It was a really nice race, a good race from us, but in the end the line was 5 meters too long – and yeah, second place. When I and Alaphilippe went, I was hoping that he would stay longer with me and that we could go long, but maybe we were too enthusiastic with the first attack.”
He went on to say, “I tried to commit alone, but once Remco joined Skjelmose, they were two, and in the last 50km, with strong headwind, I couldn’t make the gap bigger. I sort of decided to wait for them and try to beat them in the sprint, but it was a little bit of a gamble.”
The Classics season has been a mixed bag for Pogačar, with so far two wins (Strade Bianche and Tour of Flanders), two second places (this race and Paris-Roubaix) and a third place in Milan-Sanremo – though, of course, five podiums in five Classics is quite an accomplishment.
Remco’s triumphant return
Evenepoel blamed a mid-race crash, which also took down Wout van Aert (Visma–Lease a Bike) and Thibau Nys (Lidl-Trek), for his loss. “Without that fall, I would have won the race,” he said. “I had to push 100 watts more to come back. At such a rate, you pay cash for that. If I can save those strengths, I might still be able to attack on the Cauberg or try to break away alone. But that will be for next year.”
But Evenepoel has lots to be proud of in his return from the severe injuries he sustained in a December 3 training crash. Two days before Sunday’s impressive performance – he was indirectly responsible for Skjelmose’s win, leading the Dane up all the climbs – he returned to racing after five months away with a victory in Friday’s De Brabantse Pijl, where he beat Wout van Aert (Visma–Lease a Bike) in a sprint after the two Belgians had ridden together for the last 50km of the 162.6km course from Beersel to Overijse.
“It’s incredible,” a clearly delighted Evenepoel said after that victory. “I knew in the last days that I was pretty good, but to race from so far away together with Wout, who is in, let’s say, growing shape, and being back here on a course that is not 100% mine, it feels pretty good. Then to beat Wout in the sprint, [after] taking the lead in the last two kilometers . . . . It’s so incredible to open the season with a win.”
It could be argued that it was a bit much to demand of his body to ride two races in three days and that this was one reason he could not do better in the Amstel sprint. On the other hand, he now looks like the rider to give Pogačar a good fight in the upcoming two Ardennes Classics, La Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, which Evenepoel has already won twice.
With Mathieu van der Poel preparing to go for the MTB world championship at the end of summer, it’s great to have a nearly fully fit Evenepoel back to keep Pogačar on his toes and make the end of the spring Classics season competitive.
As for van Aert, he won a very intense sprint for fourth place on Sunday after refusing mysteriously to join the battle for victory. He has claimed in previous sprint failures that he was not yet good enough, but he beat some very good sprinters on Sunday, including Michael Matthews (Jayco-AlUla). So what’s going on? Is it possible that van Aert is using the Classics races to prepare for the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France? Stay tuned.
