{"id":198416,"date":"2025-04-21T11:42:59","date_gmt":"2025-04-21T11:42:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=198416"},"modified":"2025-04-21T19:48:09","modified_gmt":"2025-04-21T19:48:09","slug":"huge-upset-at-amstel-gold-race-as-skjelmose-outsprints-pogacar-and-evenepoel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2025\/04\/21\/huge-upset-at-amstel-gold-race-as-skjelmose-outsprints-pogacar-and-evenepoel\/","title":{"rendered":"Huge Upset at Amstel Gold Race as Skjelmose Outsprints Poga\u010dar and Evenepoel"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yes, the headline is correct. Lidl-Trek\u2019s 24-year-old Mattias Skjelmose beat world champion Tadej Poga\u010dar (UAE Team Emirates\u2013XRG) and double Olympics champion Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) to win a star-studded Amstel Gold Race and record his first-ever Classics victory.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Poga\u010dar caught, then beaten<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The three riders rode together after Skjelmose and Evenepoel caught Poga\u010dar with 8.2km left to ride in the 255.9km race from Maastricht to Berg en Terblijt. That in itself was an upset as Poga\u010dar had only been caught once before when riding on his own with a sizable lead, in a stage of last year\u2019s Tour de France, by Jonas Vingegaard (Visma\u2013Lease a Bike) \u2013 and that had been because he had neglected to properly fuel himself.<\/p>\n

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 Poga\u010dar eventually built a lead of 34 seconds to the peloton, as it looked as if the race was as good as over \u2013 even after Skjelmose took after him at the 32km mark.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s short, steep climbs, the two made slow but undeniable progress until they caught up to a visibly tiring Poga\u010dar and kicked off the thrilling, and thrillingly surprising, endgame \u2013 which ended with Skjelmose pipping Poga\u010dar by half a wheel at the line and a tired Evenepoel finishing third.<\/p>\n

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A post shared by Amstel Gold Race (@amstelgoldrace)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n