Double Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel enters Sunday’s Amstel Gold Race as the overwhelming favorite, as the peloton prepares for the first installment of the Ardennes triptych between Maastricht and Valkenburg in the Netherlands.
Cycling enthusiasts will have to wait a bit longer for the highly anticipated three-way showdown between the Belgian star, world champion Tadej Pogacar, and 19-year-old French sensation Paul Seixas. Neither Pogacar nor Seixas will be on the start line for Sunday’s race. While Seixas is set to compete in the midweek Flèche Wallonne, Pogacar will only take the start at Liège-Bastogne-Liège the following Sunday.
The Slovenian has opted for an extremely limited race schedule this year, and Liège will mark only his fifth race of the 2026 season. He has not yet participated in any stage races this season. Apart from securing a historic fourth victory at Strade Bianche last month in his season debut, he has targeted only the prestigious Monument classics this year. Pogacar won Milan-San Remo and the Tour of Flanders before being outsprinted by Wout van Aert at Paris-Roubaix last Sunday.
The 257-kilometer route features 33 short, steep, and explosive climbs, making it akin to a cobble-free Tour of Flanders. Evenepoel should feel at home on this terrain. Last year, both Pogacar and Evenepoel started the Amstel Gold Race but finished second and third respectively, beaten by Dane Mattias Skjelmose in a sprint.
This season, Evenepoel started excellently, winning three races in the Challenge Mallorca series in late January. He followed that with victory at the Vuelta a la Comunidad Valenciana, but his form then dipped. After a strong start at the UAE Tour, where he won the opening time trial, he faded to finish 10th overall and could only manage fifth at the Volta a Catalunya. However, he showed his class at the Tour of Flanders just over a week ago, finishing third behind Tadej Pogacar and cobbled classic specialist Mathieu van der Poel.
Evenepoel’s main rival is likely to be 2024 winner Tom Pidcock, provided the Briton, who started the season in great form, has recovered from his crash in Catalunya. Skjelmose will defend his crown, though his results have been inconsistent this season. American Matteo Jorgenson could also be in contention after a solid start to the season, finishing second behind Mexican Isaac del Toro in the Tirreno-Adriatico stage race.
After the Amstel Gold Race, all eyes will shift to the Flèche Wallonne, where Paul Seixas will look to extend his impressive early-season run, having dominated the Tour of the Basque Country. Then Pogacar joins the Ardennes party at Liège, continuing his quest to become the first rider to win four Monuments in a single season. The last time these two clashed, the Frenchman was the last rider to lose Pogacar’s wheel at Strade Bianche, securing an impressive second place.