Belgian cycling star Remco Evenepoel has won the 60th edition of the Amstel Gold Race, the prestigious Dutch spring classic held in the hilly Limburg region of the southern Netherlands. Evenepoel, riding for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, outsprinted Denmark's Mattias Skjelmose — last year's winner — in a tense two-man finish, with Frenchman Benoît Cosnefroy (UAE) taking third place in a separate sprint behind them.
Evenepoel had finished third at the same race a year ago, behind Skjelmose and Tadej Pogacar, and had publicly promised the outgoing race director Leo van Vliet that he would return to win. He delivered on that promise with a controlled, dominant display. His Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe team set the tempo throughout, with Dutch rider Tim van Dijke pacing the peloton for 170 kilometres. A late breakaway featuring Warren Barguil, Marco Frigo, Huub Artz and others was reeled in with 36 kilometres to go. From there, a sharp acceleration by Frenchman Axel Grégoire on the steep Kruisberg climb whittled the front group down to five riders, before a crash eliminated Kévin Vauquelin and Matteo Jorgenson. Evenepoel then cracked Grégoire on the penultimate ascent of the Cauberg climb, leaving only Skjelmose able to follow. Despite repeated attempts on the final circuits, Evenepoel could not shake the Dane, and the race came down to a sprint from the top of the last Cauberg, less than two kilometres from the line. Evenepoel launched his effort from second position and held off Skjelmose convincingly.