"It was not my intention to create bad vibes" - Mattias Skjelmose apologises to Wout van Aert after spreading rumours of his imminent departure

Prior to the start of stage 10 of the Tour de France on Tuesday, Mattias Skjelmose sent shockwaves through the cycling world when he told Danish channel TV2 that Wout van Aert was set to leave the race. That was untrue and now he has apologised.

Speaking once again to TV2 prior to the start of stage 11, Skjelmose explained himself and offered the Jumbo-Visma superstar his sincerest apologies. "I said something that I hadn't really thought about, and I didn't know that TV2 would take it that far. So it's a bit of a shame," the Lidl-Trek rider says. "I'm sorry it's come to what it has. I have written to Wout yesterday and told him that I am really sorry and I hope he will accept that apology."

"It was not my intention to create bad vibes," Skjelmose continues. "I think it's a shame because I was just asked about Jumbo's tactics and nothing was meant to be said. It was just an argument for why I thought Wout was going to go in the break. I'm sorry about that. I have made a mistake and I must also be man enough to step up and give an apology."

Finally, the recent Tour de Suisse winner also revealed his intentions to meet up with van Aert during the day and apologise in person. "He reached out to me on WhatsApp yesterday where I told him that I hoped he would let me ride up to him today so I could apologise face to face and he has agreed to that."