"Maybe we made a mistake by not reacting immediately" - Tiesj Benoot and Visma miss out on decisive move at Amstel Gold Race 2025

After a thrilling edition of the Amstel Gold Race in 2025, it was Lidl-Trek's Mattias Skjelmose that emerged with a surprise win, defeating world champion Tadej Pogacar and Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel in a thrilling three-up sprint for the win. Although Team Visma | Lease a Bike had no rider on the podium, with Wout van Aert and Tiesj Benoot, there were two riders in the top 10.

"I didn't have the best legs, but that was maybe also because UAE Team Emirates - XRG were making it a really hard race," reflected Benoot, who crossed the line in 8th, in his post-race interview afterwards. "I felt a little bit stronger than last Friday (Brabantse Pijl ed.), so that makes me happy. But yeah, Pogacar went on a really hard moment. We were with a strong group behind, but we had the feeling that no one could really make a difference."

That's not quite how it turned out though as first Skjelmose and then Evenepoel attacked the chase before sensationally bridging the gap to Pogacar up ahead. "At the top of the Keutenberg, Skjelmose attacked and then Remco did the same. Maybe we made a mistake by not reacting immediately but Wout and me were a bit further back in the group. Then afterwards we just killed each other for that 4th place."

"There was a strong headwind in the final and a lot of strong guys behind but our cooperation was not super anymore. Remco and Skjelmose went full gas to get him back and I'm sure it was nice for the people on TV," concludes the Belgian who continues his strong run of form this Spring. "It's surprising (that Pogacar didn't win ed.) but yeah, the guys who came back had the mental advantage. And in a headwind sprint it's always a bit tricky."