Amstel Gold Race 2026 Preview: Can Skjelmose Defend as Pogacar Hunts Revenge in the 60th Edition?
The spring Classics season rolls on to the Ardennes on April 19, when the 60th edition of the Amstel Gold Race departs Maastricht for a 257.2km test across 33 ascents of Dutch Limburg. Last year, Mattias Skjelmose produced one of the great Amstel upsets when he out-sprinted Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel from a three-rider group — one of the very few occasions in recent memory that Pogacar has been beaten in a sprint. This year, the defending champion arrives having established himself as one of the sport's most dangerous one-day riders, but the 2026 field is deeper and more determined than ever.
Pogacar's motivation will be ferocious. He rarely loses one-day races in consecutive editions, and the memory of being pipped at the Cauberg in 2025 will have lingered through the winter. His spring has already yielded a record fourth Strade Bianche, Milan-San Remo, and a second Tour of Flanders title — a haul that suggests he is operating somewhere near his absolute ceiling. The Amstel's combination of short climbs, high pace, and a finish that rewards explosive sprint speed rather than sustained altitude should suit his profile perfectly.
Evenepoel adds an interesting dimension after his remarkable Tour of Flanders debut earlier this month. His ability to recover quickly between efforts on repeated short climbs — and his formidable sprint from a small group — makes him dangerous at Amstel in a way he would not have been on the heavier Flemish cobbles. He was part of the three-rider sprint that Skjelmose won in 2025, and there is a strong argument he is a better Amstel rider than a Flanders rider.
Young Mexican talent Isaac del Toro, who won Tirreno-Adriatico earlier in the spring, is among the names to watch. Del Toro has shown an ability to go deep on repeated efforts that suggests he could thrive in the Ardennes, and UAE Team Emirates-XRG will look to capitalise on their depth in what is becoming one of cycling's most formidable squads. Thomas Pidcock, who came close at Milan-San Remo where Pogacar beat him by centimetres, will be desperate to add an Ardennes Monument to his palmares.
The race format has been slightly tweaked for the 60th edition, with a marginally shorter run-in from the final classified climb to the finish. The Cauberg, which crests just inside the final 10km, remains the decisive moment — a short, steep wall where the race habitually explodes. History says the winner is almost always in the front group on the Cauberg's second passage. The rider who can match the accelerations of Pogacar and Evenepoel on that climb and still have enough left for the sprint will take the anniversary edition's prize.
The women's race — the Amstel Gold Race Ladies Edition — runs on the same day over 158.2km, with defending champion Mischa Bredewold looking to add to her 2025 solo win. Demi Vollering, fresh from her spring Classics campaign with FDJ-SUEZ, Lotte Kopecky, and Puck Pieterse are among the favourites in what promises to be a thrilling double-header in Limburg.