“There’s no doubt I can ride. It just hurts a little, and I’ve swelled up like a sponge,” continues the 24-year-old Danish talent, revealing a remedy given to him in the hopes of a quick recovery. “I had to check in with Mikael Kyneb (a Danish therapist for
Lidl-Trek) to find out what kind of tea he gave Mads Pedersen when he crashed at Dwars Door Vlaanderen last year. So I’ve been loading up on turmeric, ginger, and lemon. I think it’s helping. It feels like the pain is coming from inflammation that’s pressing on everything. So we’re trying different techniques to flush it out as much as possible.”
As mentioned, despite the pain Skjelmose is battling, he still intends to be present on the startline on Sunday and is determined to still make his mark on the race in some form. “It’s obviously not ideal, but it doesn’t change how I’ll approach Liège. So that’s a positive,” he concludes. “The feeling isn’t great, and I’ve also been riding with way too many clothes on to try and sweat as much as possible. It’s not exactly fun. But I’ve got one more big effort to give this spring, and then I can rest. So I’m willing to suffer for that.”