"He didn't do everything he could" - Chris Horner criticizes Mattias Skjelmose's passiveness against Remco Evenepoel at Amstel Gold Race
Cycling
At the Tour of Flanders there was a lot of criticism towards Mathieu van der Poel for willfully collaborating equally with Tadej Pogacar despite that harming his chances of taking the win. At Amstel Gold Race, albeit not as strongly, the same is being pointed towards Mattias Skjelmose.
The Dutch classic saw Romain Grégoire launch the initial attack and get dropped later on; Whilst Kévin Vauquelin, Matteo Jorgenson and Mathieu Burgaudeau were involved in a crash. That meant only Skjelmose could hang on with Remco Evenepoel in the decisive phase of the race. However behind, both Grégoire and Skjelmose had teammates in the casing group whilst Evenepoel did not, but both worked with the Belgian who was the overwhelming favourite.
"There was one clear top favorite in this race. You simply shouldn't keep riding with him. Just let him ride at the front," American Chris Horner argued on his own Youtube channel. For Evenepoel, the task was made easier. "He did nothing wrong and rode a perfect race. He was admittedly the only top rider at the start, but he did a great job".
But the former Vuelta a España winner did not ignore the fact that Evenepoel's rival teams effectively did not use any tactics against him, as was the case with Pogacar in Flanders, where his climbing superiority was evident yet Mathieu van der Poel repeated the same tactic that he had 12 months prior which led to him getting dropped on the very same climb.
"There were two Lidl-Trek teammates and one FDJ teammate in the chasing group. Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe had no one, because they had been exhausted all day".
Lidl-Trek and Groupama didn't use their riders to put pressure on Evenepoel
Horner strongly argues that Skjelmose should've refused to work or at least slow down to try and aid the possibility of his teammates returning to the front - which could then open up new race scenarios, in which Lidl-Trek could put the Olympic Champion and eventual winner under pressure.
"If you get back to the chasing group, you can still try to wear Remco down with your teammates. Albert Withen Philipsen and Ewen Costiou looked very strong. Then you could have taken turns attacking". That was not the case, and Evenepoel then comfortably won the final sprint against the Dane, who showed himself satisfied with the result and argued he did everything he could.
"He didn't do everything he could, because there were other tactics to create chaos," Horner argues. "Now Grégoire was dropped early, and I was waiting for Skjelmose to do the same. I understand that Skjelmose himself is satisfied with a second place, because if he disappoints throughout the season he can still say he was second in the Amstel, but his team manager really needs to say something about this," the American concluded.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- for what?frieders311-11-2026
- Blah blah blah!frieders311-11-2026
- Where Merckx just rode every single race he could and won all the time, Hinault won less often (percentage wise) because he was more judicious in what he raced. His palmares are nuts. He had amazing rivals, one to start his career and another to end it in the grand tours. His classics were solid. What sets him apart from Merckx and Pogačar are that he basically dabbled in the classics while the other two love(d) them. I used to compare Pogačar to Hinault for his grand tour record and occasional classics win, until I realized that the comparison was wrong. Pogačar loves the classics - ah, the memory of his reaction to finishing fourth in a 2 person sprint in Flanders in ‘22: utter domination in any one day race since then, even when he doesn’t win. Hinault lived for the grand tours and I don’t think anyone else will ever reach his record. 10 wins in 13 attempts? Good lord. An amazing rider. Wish there was more footage to watch.RidesHills11-11-2026
- I had no idea about that either.
santiagobenites10-11-2026 - great analysis thanks! appreciate you posting this. I didn't realize CX had a different standard for deviation. this is even more egregious it seems.mij10-11-2026
- As he isn't currently with Red Bull, I guess if he want to race for one more year he needs to find a team. He's 37 so this will be his last year I would guess, unless he wants to race for almost nothing like Froome did.awp10-11-2026
- I think some are making much ado about nothing. Even though Jonas is getting older, before his crash in the Tour, he looked like a solid 2nd all the way home. No one can really climb with Tadej until this year, Eric Mas showed himself which I think was a one off year for him and Paul Seixas has been able to be pretty close to him. Whatever stage race Jonas enters as long as Tadej is not there he is a favorite to win.awp10-11-2026
- Giro or not Giro, he won't win the Tour!MajorPayne10-11-2026
- Very true.awp10-11-2026
- Ciccone had a very strong end of season. Consistently attacking and livening up races. Hope he makes that last leap in progress and starts notching some significant wins. Great rider to watch.Occam10-11-2026
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