Skjelmose: Beating Pogacar at Amstel 'gave hope to others in the peloton'

Mattias Skjelmose has described his 2025 Amstel Gold Race victory as a moment that "gave hope to other riders in the peloton," after he outsprinted Tadej Pogačar and Remco Evenepoel in a thrilling finish in Berg en Terblijt.

"Winning gave hope to other riders in the peloton. People came up to me and said it was a blessing for the sport," said Skjelmose in an interview with Wieler Revue.

"No, I don't have a picture of it on the wall of my house, but I do have some beautiful photos saved in my phone gallery. The best one, in my opinion, is of all of us throwing our bikes across the finish line."

The Dane from Lidl-Trek captured the first major classic and twelfth victory of his career after the race was opened by Julian Alaphilippe's attack on the Gulperberg, which initially only Pogačar could follow. The world champion powered clear after Alaphilippe faded, but Skjelmose and Evenepoel managed to catch Pogačar, a rare sight. 

"When Alaphilippe attacked, I was somewhat blocked by Ben Healy. Afterwards, I missed getting across by five metres, partly because I decided not to run myself over. In retrospect, that was the right tactic," explained Skjelmose. "Of course, I had a very good day, but purely in terms of feeling, I've had better days in 2025, you know."

Skjelmose explained that he felt in control of his efforts during the final ascent of the Cauberg, just a few kilometres from the finish line, where he managed to hold his nerve in a tense sprint finish.

"The last time up the Cauberg, I was in control. I think Remco mainly rode the pace there and didn't necessarily try to drop us. We all relied on our sprint," said Skjelmose.

"Was I nervous in the final stages? No, why should I be? I just wanted to ride my best possible sprint, and then I would finish first, second, or third."

The victory marked the first time since Mathieu van der Poel's 2023 World Championship win in Glasgow that someone had beaten both Pogačar and Evenepoel in a one-day race. Despite the overwhelming magnitude of what he could achieve, Skjelmose admitted that keeping a clear head in the finale was key to his success.

"It's a quality not to overthink everything. I was mainly focused on what I had to do and didn't think about the size of the race and what a great opportunity it was for me to beat two of the best riders in the world."

According to Skjelmose, his success resonated deeply within the peloton. "Winning gave hope to other riders in the peloton. People came up to me and said it was a blessing for the sport," he revealed.

Despite his success at the Amstel Gold Race, Skjelmose had to overcome plenty of challenges in 2025, not least his crash a few weeks earlier at Paris-Nice, or when the high of victory was dulled when he crashed a few days later at La Flèche Wallonne. Though Skjelmose did admit that his victory at Amstel easily overshadows the bad fortunes he faced elsewhere in the past year.

"I've had a pretty difficult season, but it's nice that I can say afterwards, 'As difficult as it was, I won the Amstel Gold Race.' And I did it against Pogačar and Evenepoel. No one will ever be able to take that away from me."