"I'm even closer than I thought before" - Second place at Flèche Wallone behind Pogacar a great sign for Mattias Skjelmose
Cycling
Flèche Wallone saw Trek - Segafredo come in with three cards to use. All were saved for the final climb, and Mattias Skjelmose put on a very strong performance to finish second on the day, only behind Tadej Pogacar who was unbeatable on the day.
“UAE Emirates has done a great job. I thought the rest would attack a bit earlier, but his team held it together really well," the Dane said in a post-race interview, further complementing his rival who proved why he was the man to beat on the day. "Cheers, I want to say. Pogacar was also smart to wait. Real champions can keep themselves calm if they have good legs."
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Skjelmose kept his powder dry all the way into the Mur de Huy and even there he was relatively hidden. As Giulio Ciccone and Bauke Mollema also hovered over the front of the group, Skjelmose found himself a few wheels behind Pogacar and Woods who led the group up the difficult hairpin. The 22-year old was one of the few who managed to accelerate once Romain Bardet hit the front, and then rode to the head of the stringed out peloton when Tadej Pogacar attacked.
The win wasn't attainable however Skjelmose finished an impressive second place, which had him satisfied at the end of a hard day. “I'm even closer than I thought before. Of course you always want to win, but you also have to be realistic. The team did a great job and really made a step," he concluded. With more climbing, Skjelmose has placed himself as a contender for the podium at Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
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Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- Bingo...I was going to say a 12 year obsessed Pogi fan girlie ! Like she's chasing a teen boy band! All glossy eyed about tadej!frieders312-11-2026
- That stint in the Pink was so good. If memory serves he struggled with the champagne cuz he'd never been on the podium before. I feel like it gave him some self-belief, and yeah - then the move to Visma to be one of their lieutenants has really brought him to the best version of himself.wrsty12-11-2026
- So, you never really compared Paul Seixas with his main rival Isaac Del Toro why jump to Pogačar? They've (Paul & Isaac) raced together here and there, and they've both shared in wins and losses, I think they should be compared to each other, even with Vingegaard and Remco first before even touching Pogačar. From your writing it's like he's better than Vingegaard, Remco and Del Toro already that his main target is now Pogačar 🤔Sadick11-11-2026
- gee i hope its a minor injury. a great rider and ambassador for the sport. get well soon Lucinda.
Davide11-11-2026 - some of lidl-treks retention and recruiting has been puzzling in the mens and womens teams.
Davide11-11-2026 - Yeah his ride at World's was unreal. Over 6 W/kg for over an hour and a half...he single handedly destroyed the break.DAS11-11-2026
- Exactly, you hit the nail on te head.... Ayuso sucks. 3 to 4 years ago some cycling experts were comparing Ayuso as the "new Pogi"... but he's not even close to him... either physically or mentally. Capish you naive schoolboy?PogiSloFans11-11-2026
- I think they expected more from riders like Carlos Rodriguez, Vauquelin and Magnus Sheffield. Imo they should have focused on signing Primoz Roglic, at least they´d probably have had a guaranteed podium GT finisher (he still might sign for them). Now they have 2nd or third tier riders in the classics (Ben Turner, Arensman, Beloki and hopefully Onley can step up again even more). Sheffield, August, Bernal, Tarling and Geoghan Hart did not live up to the star expectations eventually..Jonatan11-11-2026
- Fuuuuuuck, Ciccone and Pidcock on the same team, attacking like crazy and taking it to the other competitors? Yes, please.Occam11-11-2026
- Oh Cameron, this win has been a long time coming! We could not be more proud. All I’ll say is: roll on Glasgow 🔥anonymouscyclist11-11-2026
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#FlecheWallonne A little bit of credit to @skjelmose_ for his outstanding second place please 🥲 📸@SprintCycling
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