“I’m not super impressed with myself” - Mattias Skjelmose questions his level after frustrating struggles in Catalunya

Mattias Skjelmose arrived at the 2026 Volta a Catalunya expecting more from himself than he ultimately delivered, and his own verdict reflects that frustration.

“I’m not super impressed with myself,” he told TV2, reflecting on a race that marked his first stage race appearance of the season. The expectation had been different. “I thought I was at a different level than I actually was,” he added, underlining the gap between how he felt coming in and what he was able to produce on the road.

A seventh place overall is not a result to dismiss outright, particularly given the depth of the field and the presence of riders like Jonas Vingegaard at the front.

Skjelmose himself acknowledged as much, noting that “seventh place isn’t bad in this kind of field,” but the tone of his assessment made it clear that the number alone did not reflect his ambitions. “I just hoped for more.”

Part of that frustration came from how the race unfolded, particularly on the final stage, where Skjelmose attempted to force something in a tightly controlled finale. “It was insanely hard,” he said. “It was really difficult to make a difference.” Even when small gaps appeared, they proved almost impossible to sustain. “Every time there was a small gap, it was closed very easily, because it’s hard to keep it going out front, especially when we’re coming back together in a big group.”

That pattern reflected a broader theme across the week. Opportunities were limited, and when they did come, they required a level of sharpness that Skjelmose felt he did not quite have yet.

Stage 6 proved particularly costly. Dropped on a descent as the race split, he found himself on the wrong side of the decisive move, losing significant time. A crash on the same day only compounded the damage, turning a difficult situation into one that effectively ended any chance of moving up the general classification.

Despite that, there is no sense of concern from Skjelmose about what comes next. If anything, his assessment of Catalunya fits into a pattern he recognises from previous seasons. “It’s my first stage race in a long time, and sometimes I need a stage race to get going,” he explained, framing the result as part of a process rather than a warning sign.

That process now continues at the Tour of the Basque Country, where he expects a different version of himself to appear. “Normally I need to come down from altitude, do a stage race, then have some rest, and then I’m usually flying,” he said. “So I’m looking forward to the Basque Country.”

For now, the immediate focus is recovery. “It’s nice to have it done and in the books,” he added. “I’m looking forward to relaxing a bit and then racing again next week.”

Taken together, his comments point less to a rider searching for answers and more to one recalibrating expectations after a week that did not match his internal standard. The frustration is clear, but so too is the belief that the level he expected is still there, just not quite reached yet.