Mattias Skjelmose gets his first GC victory in Tour of Luxembourg - “I'm super happy. I am convinced that I will become a very good rider in the future"

Mattias Skjelmose took his first professional victory yesterday, and today he defended his leader’s jersey and booked the overall victory in the Tour of Luxembourg.

“I'm super happy!" said Skjelmose. He continues, “I'm 21, turn 22 later this month, and this is a very big race for me. Tomorrow I'm going to the World Cup, and I can't think of a better preparation than this. So yeah, I'm super happy."

Trek-Segafredo and his teammates supported him in the endeavor and protected him from the attacks in today’s hilly stage. "I think we did really well as a team by controlling the race and making sure I only had to do something on the last climb. When it's that steep, it purely comes down to the legs. Luckily, mine were good enough today," said Skjelmose.

The final sprint was quite suspenseful for him. When stage winner Valentin Madouas started his final sprint, Skjelmose confused him for Madouas who was just 3 seconds behind in GC. But it turns out he was wrong. "At first I thought: shit! I started the sprint too early. But then I saw that it was Madouas who was going to pass me. I saw Vauquelin on the left, but I knew I would still win, if he was second and I was third. In the end, it wasn't as bad as it looked," the Danish rider explained.

After claiming his first professional victory, he is dreaming of standing on the podium at grand tours. Although achieving this dream can be quite challenging. "This year I have shown that I am good in one-week races and the team wants me to develop into a rider for the big tours. I made a big step after the Giro and if I can keep making these steps, I am convinced that I will become a very good rider in the future, and can go for the win in a grand tour. That is the dream and that is what I will fight for," concluded Skjelmose.