Mattias Skjelmose heading to Tour de France against his wishes: "It was a bit of a strange conversation... the team insisted that I ride the Tour"
Cycling
With more and more of the peloton's teams unveiling their provisional plans for the 2025 season, the expected field of GC competitors at each of the Grand Tours is beginning to fill up. At the Tour de France, Lidl-Trek's general classification will be led by Mattias Skjelmose. The curious thing is though, the Dane himself seems totally against the idea.
Skjelmose made a real Grand Tour breakthrough at the 2024 Vuelta a Espana, finishing 5th overall and winning the Best Young Rider classification. For the next step in his development, the Dane had hoped for a return to Italy and the Giro d'Italia. As mentioned though, despite him pleading his case for a Giro return, it is the team who has the final decision and the call to ride the Tour de France was made.
"It's been a bit of a strange conversation because I really wanted to ride the Giro, but the team insisted that I ride the Tour," Skjelmose explains in conversation with TV2.dk, at least seeing some positives in a return to France. "It will also be with Jonathan Milan (sprinter, ed.) as the primary goal in the Tour de France, so I will have a Tour with not much pressure."
"After the Vuelta, I saw that the Giro was the most natural step in terms of developing myself as a general classification rider. I personally don't think I'm quite ready for the Tour yet and to perform in a general classification context in the Tour," he continues, explaining the thought process behind his desire to go to the Giro. "That's why I thought the Giro would be a better place to take a further step compared to what we have done now."
The possibility of Skjelmose going back to the Vuelta a Espana later this year also remains on the cards for the Dane. "It's in play, yes. It's a decision that will be made after the Tour de France, where we find out how I feel physically and mentally," he concludes.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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