The Danish rider produced a strong title defense to finish on the podium at the 2026 Amstel Gold Race
After his huge victory in the Netherlands last spring, everyone knew that the rolling, tough climbs of the Amstel Gold Race suited Mattias Skjelmose very well. Coming into the 2026 edition of the race as defending champion always would bring a weight of expectation, but the Danish rider lived up to the hype, executing a fantastic race to finish in second place behind winner Remco Evenepoel on Sunday.
Well-positioned by his teammates throughout the early stages, Skjelmose was able to bide his time until the decisive moment came to follow the attacks of other key contenders. After marking plenty of moves, the Danish rider made it into a select front group as the race passed inside the final 50-kilometres. On the penultimate ascent of the Cauberg, Evenepoel played his card and Skjelmose was able to follow the Belgian rider’s punchy acceleration. The pair then found themselves leading the race with just under 20-kilometres to go.
Working well together in a two-man break, the gap between Skjelmose and the chase group – which included his Lidl-Trek teammate Albert Withen Philipsen – grew to over one minute and it was clear he and Evenepoel would sprint for victory between them. Heading into the final kilometre, Skjelmose took to the front and waited for Evenepoel to start his sprint. After a tough drag race, the Dane narrowly finished in second place to finish nearly six hours of gruelling racing. Philipsen came in eighth from the sprint behind – a breakthrough performance from the young talent which points, once again, to his bright future in these types of hilly races. Skjelmose reaffirmed his consistency at the highest level, backing up his 2025 win with another podium in one of cycling’s most prestigious one-day classics.
In Skjelmose's words
I’m happy. I was a little bit sick after Basque so I didn’t know what to expect from today. Second place and looking at the numbers, my performance was good. Following a rider like Remco to the finish is a great result and for the team, it is raining on a really dry place. When he didn’t drop me on the Cauberg I thought I might be able to win, and I tried when he launched the sprint but he was the superior rider in the end.
I have a special relationship with this race, I always dreamed of doing the cobbled classics but my ability lay somewhere else. Amstel is the closest race you get to doing a cobbled classic with the left, right, up, down, and small roads and obstacles. I love this race. Even though every time I finish it, I think I won’t do it again because it’s insane, but for sure I want to do it again.
