"Extremely proud and disappointed at the same time" - Mattias Skjelmose admits mixed feelings after Ardennes classics

Mattias Skjelmose was one of the headliners of the Ardennes classics and one of the riders who climbed the best all week long. However, the Lidl-Trek rider reflected on it and admitted that the result he had at Liège-Bastogne-Liège was not the cherry on top of the cake that he hoped for.

"I had a few hours to collect my thoughts after the Ardennes week. It’s been one hell of a week. I feel both extremely proud and disappointed at the same time, a real paradox," the Dane wrote in an Instagram post.

Skjelmose was the only one to keep up with Remco Evenepoel at Amstel Gold Race and finished second to the Olympic Champion; and then climbed to fifth at La Flèche Wallonne. At Liège-Bastogne-Liège he was an outsider for the podium, but on the road he showed that he was able to be much more than just an outsider.

After Tadej Pogacar and Paul Seixas attacked on La Redoute, Skjelmose was isolated on the road behind, climbing better than the rest of the field, but later on waited for the chasing group in which there were plenty attacks.

However at Roche-aux-Faucons, Giulio Ciccone set the pace and launched Skjelmose who had the legs to make a difference to the rest once again. He was close to finishing third and joining the two strongest climbers on the podium, however Remco Evenepoel's relentless attacks behind in the final kilometers closed the gap back down once again. In the final sprint, he could only manage 17th spot.

"I’m proud of the team, both riders and staff. These are incredibly difficult races, and we still managed to do everything we could to perform. At the same time, I’m disappointed with the results," he admits. "The team deserved more. I felt like I had more in the legs, but results sheets speak, not just pure performance".

It was a long path for the Dane to arrive to this moment of the season. Back in December, he learnt about Juan Ayuso's presence in the Ardennes through the media day gathering, at the time something that could jeopardize his leadership.

Whils the Spaniard's injury at Paris-Nice ended up playing in Skjelmose's favour when it came to his own individual ambitions, it had been a spring without too much to show for. An illness following the Itzulia Basque Country also put his own leadership of the team at risk for the key part of his spring.

Now, the 25-year old will build up towards the Tour de France, his next big goal. "But that’s also the beauty of our sport. Thank you to everyone cheering along the roadside. I love these races with all my heart, and I will fight for them until the end of my career," he concluded.