Mattias Skjelmose takes time on Evenepoel, Vingegaard and Ayuso at Itzulia Basque Country time-trial: "That is to fight for a podium place in the GC"
Cycling
The starting time-trial of Itzulia Basque Country saw quite a lot of chaos, with Remco Evenepoel crashing, Primoz Roglic steering off-course and Tom Pidcock crashing out whilst doing a recon of the course. Mattias Skjelmose took advantage of all the adversity on the day to race into a third place, ahead of most of his GC rivals.
"Overall I’m happy with my result and with what I did. The gap of 10” to Roglic, considering he also lost some seconds on the finish line, is actually not that small considering the expectations I had at the start, but a third place with those contenders it’s definitely not bad," Skjelmose said in a press release. "For my ambition in this race, that is to fight for a podium place in the GC, it’s a good start. In such a hectic race, when you go all-in for the GC the chances to fight for the win come naturally. I really look forward to racing in the next days."
It was a very strong start for the Lidl-Trek rider who hopes to fight for the final podium alongside a very strong group of stage-race specialists. The course suits him, starting with this hilly time-trial where he only shed seconds to Primoz Roglic and Jay Vine, and featuring several explosive hilly stages where he's performed in the past. He starts off stage 2 well positioned, and with added ambitions due to his strong start.
"It was a hectic time trial and I really followed my feelings. In the end, it was all about instinct. I did a recon three weeks ago and it helped a lot to approach it in the best way, especially the part downwards, after the intermediate point," he details through his effort. "I faced it with lots of confidence and that made the difference to avoid risk and keep the speed fast."
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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- He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- What a race! I didn't expect Vanthourenhout to collapse like that, and Wyseure did take the fight to Nys, but there was no doubt at the end. I also wonder what Aubin Sparfel would be capable of were he to race in the elites now. In the U23 ranks he is making good work of Giel Lejeune, who himself is among the better riders in the elites, and a top 10 contender in the big races (3rd at Kleebergcross, 8th at Berencross and 5th at Heerderstrand). In the French Cup, Sparfel is significantly better than Romain Debord (8th at Koppenbergcross and 10th at the Euros) and Rémi Lelandais (12th at Koppenbergcross and 19th at the Euros).
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
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Well done @skjelmose_ 👊 Third place 🥉 in stage 1 of #Itzulia2024
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