“I’ve never been better”: Mattias Skjelmose shines on final mountain showdown before the Tour de France

Isaac del Toro sealed overall victory at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes with a dominant performance on the final stage, overturning a 49-second deficit to race leader Luke Tuckwell on the decisive climb to Plateau de Solaison. While the Mexican secured both the stage win and the yellow jersey, Mattias Skjelmose emerged as one of the strongest riders of the day, helping Lidl-Trek teammate Juan Ayuso onto the final podium before finishing fourth on the stage and sixth overall himself.

The eighth and final stage was expected to decide the general classification, and UAE Team Emirates-XRG ensured exactly that happened. Del Toro made his decisive move with nine kilometres remaining. The Mexican attacked from the favourites' group, bridged across to the remnants of the breakaway and rapidly built an advantage that moved him into the virtual race lead.

Behind him, Lidl-Trek focused on protecting Ayuso's podium ambitions. After the team's domestiques completed their work, Skjelmose increased the pace to set up the Spaniard for the final kilometres. Ayuso ultimately finished second on the stage and secured third place overall.

Despite sacrificing his own chances to support Ayuso, Skjelmose still produced an impressive ride, crossing the line in fourth place and finishing sixth overall, 2:41 behind Del Toro.

“We're riding a really nice stage. I'm happy with my legs,” Skjelmose said afterwards. “I set up a solid lead-out for Juan [Ayuso], and then I finished fourth myself. I’m really happy about that. The team also put in a really strong performance all day long.”

Skjelmose said the race had confirmed he is in the best form of his career, particularly after handling several demanding mountain stages in succession.

“I'm really happy. I've never been better,” he said. “I'm performing really well with three tough days in my legs, and I have a good last day. We're going into the Tour with a good feeling, and I can build on that a bit.”

Before the Tour de France begins, Skjelmose will head to an altitude training camp in Andorra, aiming to convert his strong form into results during cycling's biggest race.