"It’s wonderful. But it’s not a surprise" - Lidl-Trek DS feels vindicated by Mattias Skjelmose's Amstel Gold Race 2025 win

Lidl-Trek have long been vocal in their confidence and backing of Danish leader Mattias Skjelmose, declaring big things are in the future of the 24-year-old. This Easter Sunday at the 2025 Amstel Gold Race, Skjelmose proved his team right in the most scintillating style, denying Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel in a dramatic three-way sprint for the win.

Skjelmose himself had sounded confident pre-race, insisting it was more than in his capabilities to challenge the world champion Pogacar. “It’s always special to race against Tadej Pogacar. He’s a tough nut to crack, but hopefully we’ll crack him at some point," the former Tour de Suisse winner told Feltet.dk in a pre-Amstel Gold Race interview. As it turned out, this wasn't just smack talk either. Both Skjelmose and his Lidl-Trek team fully believed in the capabilities of the Danish star.

“It’s absolutely fantastic. It’s wonderful. But it’s not a surprise,” reflected the team's sports director Kim Andersen in conversation with TV2 immediately following his rider's victory. “He could’ve been on the podium at Paris–Nice and the Itzulia Basque Country. And three days ago, he said to me, ‘I think I’ve got it this year.’”

When Pogacar attacked clear solo at around 40km to go though, it would have been easy to get downhearted. After all, it's not often that Pogacar is every pulled back after flying the nest. On this occasion, however, first Skjelmose and then Evenepoel did not give up hope and in the end they were rewarded as they caught the runaway world champion heading into the finale.

“He was supposed to be the guy trying to form a new group,” Andersen explained. “But when he ended up out there alone, there were quite a few minutes where we debated whether he should go all-in or sit up and wait for the others. Luckily, we decided to let him continue - and then Remco came up to him.”

And the rest - as they say - is history!