"They used some unsightly tactics" - Mattias Skjelmose fascinated as rival teams bent backwards to keep breakaway at bay
CyclingSaturday, 05 September 2026 at 01:00
While the stage 13 of this year's Vuelta a Espana was always destined to suit a breakaway, the presence of Mattias Skjelmose made things a little less straightforward as the Danish rider sat only 7:42 behind Enric Mas before today's stage.
Afterwards, the Lidl-Trek leader admitted that his little adventure ahead of key stage 14 was not really the plan, but rather just a way the situation turned out to be, and Skjelmose chose to play along:
"It wasn't meant to, but if you get a free ride, you might as well take it," he told TV 2 Sport after the stage.
There was no reason not to go
Even though Skjelmose had not planned for a day spent ahead of peloton, he was attentive to all attacks in the early stages of the day, and eventually made his way across to the front when the opportunity arose just moments before the peloton closed the gates.
"At the bottom of the descent there was a little kick where we just rode up to them and it didn't cost anything. And there I was told that they were just trying to block the road down behind, and so I thought I had to see what it was. I had to use as little energy as possible and see how much I could get out of it."
Ultimately, his presence at the front became a thorn in the foot of some of his general classification rivals and so the escapees' advantage never stretched as far as to make Skjelmose a serious threat to the top-5.
"I think there were some who weren't so happy that I was sitting there, and they used some unsightly tactics. I don't think it would have been any different. If I had been in the first group, a group would have gone off without me anyway. INEOS and Bahrain were a bit unhappy, but they could just go if there was a problem."
Made sure never to invest too much
Once the action kicked off up the road, Skjelmose could not hide anymore. The Dane was able to find some sort of cooperation with pre-stage 11th Clément Berthet and 12th Cristián Rodríguez in the end.
"I only took an honest lead when we hit the flat section down there. I tried to get some of the others – Berthet and Rodriguez – to work as much as possible. I tried to do my bit anyway, but as I understand it, it was an INEOS team that was doing suicidal chase behind. So it’s hard to do that much. But gaining 2:15 is a nice way to enter the weekend for sure."
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In the end, Skjelmose remains 7th overall, but he gains a considerable amount of time on Sepp Kuss and Harold Tejada - his closest rivals in general classification. In addition, the Dane makes up for some of the time he had lost in previous mountain stages, closing in on the 6th Jakob Omrzel, who is only 33 seconds away now.
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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