“People said my win was a blessing for the sport” – Mattias Skjelmose recalls famous Amstel Gold Race upset of Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel

Mattias Skjelmose says the reaction to his 2025 Amstel Gold Race victory went far beyond simple congratulations. Riders and staff told him his triumph was “a blessing for the sport”.

Not because he was an unlikely winner, but because of what the win represented: proof that even when Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel appear to have a race under control, they can be beaten.

More often than not, races involving arguably the sport’s two biggest superstars have followed a familiar pattern: Pogacar going clear, Evenepoel driving the pace behind, and the rest left fighting for the minor places.

That is exactly why this edition stood out — despite Pogacar attacking alone and Evenepoel helping to lift the speed behind, the gap came down, the race came back together, and Skjelmose out-sprinted them both.

Speaking to Wieler Revue, Skjelmose revisited the key moment on the Gulperberg when Julian Alaphilippe attacked, with Pogacar instantly responding.

“When Alaphilippe attacked, I was somewhat blocked by Ben Healy,” he said. “Afterwards I missed the connection by five metres, partly because I decided not to completely blow myself up. Looking back, that was the right tactic.”

It meant riding his own pace rather than detonating his effort early. “Obviously I had a very good day, but purely in terms of feeling, I’ve had better days in 2025.”

By the last ascent of the Cauberg, Skjelmose, Pogacar and Evenepoel were locked together, setting up an unexpected three-way showdown. “The last time Cauberg, I had control,” Skjelmose recalled. “I think Remco was mainly riding tempo and wasn’t necessarily trying to drop us. We all trusted our sprint.”

As the finish approached, he refused to let the scale of the opportunity disrupt his mindset. “Was I nervous in the final? No, why would I be? I wanted to do the best sprint I could — then I’d finish first, second or third.”

More importantly, he says he didn’t allow the reputations beside him to cloud his judgement. “It’s a quality not to overthink everything. I focused on what I had to do and didn’t think about the size of the race or the chance to beat two of the best riders in the world.”

Moments later, he threw his bike the hardest and took the most symbolic victory of his career.

Skjelmose said the numbers from the final were far from spectacular — the race had been too hard for that. “The gap to the chasers was big enough that I could play the game by not always pulling,” he explained. “I’ve no idea how many watts I pushed in the sprint, but it wasn’t very impressive. The race had been so hard that we were all on the limit.”

He doesn’t have a framed reminder at home, but he does keep one particular image saved. “I don’t have a photo hanging on the wall, but I saved a few nice ones. The best is where we all throw our bikes at the line.”

Skjelmose admits the wider year wasn’t straightforward. “I’ve had a pretty tough season, but it’s nice that afterwards I can say: ‘However difficult it was, I still won the Amstel Gold Race.’ And that against Pogacar and Evenepoel. Nobody will ever be able to take that away from me.”

What stood out after the finish, he said, were the unexpected messages and comments from inside the peloton — including those who told him his win felt like “a blessing for the sport.”

For many observers, it was a reminder that even two of the sport’s arguably biggest modern superstars can be beaten when the racing opens up — a sentiment echoed in the reactions Skjelmose received in the days after his victory.