"It's his first Tour and we know how challenging that can be" - Lidl-Trek not putting any undue pressure of Mattias Skjelmose

After his recent successes at the Danish National Championships and the Tour de Suisse, many people are predicting big things from Mattias Skjelmose at the Tour de France. His team, Lidl-Trek however, aren't putting him under any pressure.

"Skjelmose is given the opportunity to go for a general classification, but it's his first Tour and we know how challenging that can be. We also have to be honest: he has been in peak form for a long time now, but whether he can maintain that form for three more weeks? We'll see," explains team manager Steven de Jongh to IDLProCycling.com. "If it turns out in the first week that he can't, we'll give him a few days of rest and then he can target stage wins."

Skjelmose defeated the likes of Remco Evenepoel and Juan Ayuso to take overall victory at the Tour de Suisse in a breakthrough performance from the 22-year-old Danish rider. The Tour de France is on another level though, as shown by the brutal opener that could see the GC battle ignite straight away.

"The battle for the general classification will unfold rapidly, and we hope Skjelmose can make an immediate impact," continues de Jongh. "It is certainly fantastic that he won the Tour de Suisse, but that is also because our expectations as a team remain the same. He knows that, and we won't put any extra pressure on him. Many eyes are on him, but he shouldn't let himself get overwhelmed."