"Like celebrating New Year's Eve at half past six" - Thijs Zonneveld critical of Julian Alaphilippe's early attack at Amstel

The 2025 edition of Amstel Gold Race was entertaining beyond expectations with epic battle between Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel, while we found a surprising winner with Mattias Skjelmose. Yet journalist and expert Thijs Zonneveld noticed another rider whose performance was far from epic.

Julian Alaphilippe took on the role of first attacker with 50 kilometers to go. "It looked great, but what was this? A kind of show attack. As if he was a teammate of Pogacar. He just has one arrow, he shoots it and then it's over," Zonneveld describes Frenchman's attempt in the podcast In de Waaier. The comparison that follows is striking: "As if you're going to celebrate New Year's Eve at half past six."

Alaphilippe's attack was quickly neutralized and Pogacar had to continue alone. "On the Keutenberg he says he's the strongest, but he can't get guys like Powless and Healy off his back. He just doesn't have the punch to make a difference uphill."

Zonneveld then saw an impressive final phase of the race, in which Pogacar stuck to his attack, but was eventually joined by Mattias Skjelmose and Evenepoel. "It was great to see, really old-fashioned time difference watching. Pogacar had a grimace, things weren't going well. You felt: this could still be exciting."  

For Pogacar it was his fifth tough racing week in a row, with Paris-Roubaix as the low point for now. Zonneveld wonders how long the Slovenian can keep up this rhythm. "He is not burning himself out, because he continues to perform well. But physically and mentally this is really a lot. Peaking every week, riding finals every week: how long can you keep that up?"

The decision was ultimately made in the sprint, where Skjelmose proved to be the strongest. Zonneveld points to the Cauberg as a missed opportunity for Evenepoel. "If he really is the strongest, he should have gone there. That sprint on Friday - in which he won against Van Aert - may have crept into his mind. But this was his moment. He could have dropped one, maybe both."