“Jonas Vingegaard was the only one who could really make a difference" - Mattias Skjelmose frustrated as headwind stalls chase on disrupted Catalunya summit finish

Mattias Skjelmose was left weighing what might have been after Stage 5 of the Volta a Catalunya, as the Lidl-Trek rider pointed to race dynamics shaped by the conditions on a shortened summit finish.

The Dane crossed the line in seventh place on the Coll de Pal, part of a fragmented chase behind Jonas Vingegaard, but made clear afterwards that the outcome did not fully reflect his level on the day.

“It wasn’t completely bad, but it wasn’t completely good either,” Skjelmose said after the stage to TV2.

“I mentioned before the start that as soon as a gap opened, there wouldn’t really be anyone willing to pull because of the headwind," explained the Dane further. "And that’s a bit of what happened.”

That scenario played out once Vingegaard made his move. As the Team Visma | Lease a Bike leader accelerated clearly on the final climb, the riders behind failed to form a consistent chase, with hesitation and uneven pacing allowing the gap to grow quickly. Skjelmose suggested the conditions played a direct role in that breakdown. “Jonas was the only one who could really make a difference. The other four were already ahead,” he explained.

From that point, the race behind turned into a series of individual efforts rather than a coordinated response, limiting the chances of closing the gap to the front.

Despite the result, Skjelmose indicated he had the capacity to achieve more on the stage. “I actually think I had the legs to be second or third today,” he said.

With the gaps opening across the general classification and several key contenders losing significant time, the stage marked a decisive shift in the race. For Skjelmose, however, it was a day defined as much by circumstance as by performance.

He also pointed to the remaining opportunities in the race, with further chances to influence the outcome still to come in the final stages.