VALKENBURG, Netherlands — Danish rider Mattias Skjelmose beat cycling superstar Tadej Pogačar by less than half a wheel’s length to win the Amstel Gold Race on Sunday.
In a three-way sprint to the line, double Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel appeared to have won but Pogačar nudged ahead of him with a couple of meters to go, only for Skjelmose to surge down the left and pip him at the line.
It was by far the biggest win of the 24-year-old’s career and he was in tears afterward when the photo finish showed him winning.
It was a rare defeat for Pogačar, the three-time Tour de France champion who finished second at the prestigious Paris-Roubaix classic last weekend.
Pogačar, who won Amstel in 2023, launched an attack with about 40 kilometers (25 miles) to go in the 255.9-kilometer (158.7-mile) race. But he kept looking over his shoulder, and his lead was shredded to 15 seconds by Evenepoel and Skjelmose entering the last 20 kilometers.
They caught up with 8 kilometers left. Approaching the line, Evenepoel was in front with Pogačar on his wheel and Skjelmose tucked in behind the Slovenian.
Evenepoel moved first with a strong attack, but may have gone too early. Still, it was another excellent ride from the 25-year-old Belgian, whose career was in danger following a crash last year. He only returned to racing on Friday and won the Brabantse Pijl race at home in Belgium.
Evenepoel, who swept golds in the road race and the time trial at last year’s Paris Olympics, sustained multiple fractures, a dislocated collarbone and lung contusions in December when he crashed into a vehicle while training in Belgium.
Defending champion Tom Pidcock, a two-time Olympic mountain bike champion, finished in ninth spot on Sunday.
The route started in Maastricht and featured 34 climbs, including three ascents of the iconic Cauberg, before ending in Valkenburg.
Dutch rider Mischa Bredewold won the hard-fought women’s race, finishing ahead of countrywomen Ellen van Dijk and Puck Pieterse.
They had all been part of a 23-rider breakaway that formed following the second trek up Cauberg.
Bredewold finished the 157.3-kilometer course in just over four hours, with Van Dijk and Pieterse seven seconds behind.
