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"

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.