"They’ve been rivals until now" – Lidl-Trek DS confirms Juan Ayuso & Mattias Skjelmose have buried the hatchet after media storm
Cycling
After weeks of speculation about tension inside Lidl-Trek’s newly-assembled GC dream team, sports director Kim Andersen has confirmed that Juan Ayuso and Mattias Skjelmose have now cleared the air following the announcement of the Spaniard’s high-profile transfer from UAE Team Emirates - XRG.
Speaking to Feltet.dk, Andersen revealed that the pair sat down during the team’s recent pre-season camp in Germany to resolve the misunderstandings that had spilled into the media earlier this autumn.
“Yes, they have,” Andersen said when asked if the two had talked things through. “They’ve been rivals until now, but that’s how professional sport works. You’re competitors until you’re teammates. It’s all about being able to adapt. It’s going to be very exciting.”
Miscommunication, mistranslation… and misplaced tension
The episode began when Skjelmose publicly admitted surprise over Ayuso’s signing — and frustration at the way he had been informed about it. Having been told repeatedly that Lidl-Trek wanted to “build a team around him”, the Dane questioned how the arrival of another GC leader might fit into that vision.
Ayuso responded calmly at the time, saying he could “understand a certain frustration” but stressed that top-tier teams “can’t rely on only one leader”. What followed was a media storm driven by translation errors and headlines that amplified the rift — something Andersen now insists has been resolved internally.
“It was a mix of things taken from different places, some of it poorly translated into English, and it turned into a bit of a mess that wasn’t particularly clever,” Andersen admitted. “But we’ve turned the page, and things are looking very positive.”
According to the Danish DS, Ayuso has been “received very, very warmly” by his new teammates and fitted in immediately at the squad’s recent camp, where Lidl-Trek also finalised new ownership details.
Leadership to be defined in coming weeks
While peace has been restored, questions about leadership hierarchy for 2026 remain open. Andersen confirmed that no race programmes have yet been finalised, meaning it’s unclear whether Ayuso and Skjelmose will share Grand Tour duties or alternate leadership roles.
Those decisions, he said, will be made “by the sporting management in the coming weeks”.
For now, Lidl-Trek appear intent on focusing on unity rather than rivalry — a necessary reset as the team looks to step up into cycling’s top echelon with two of the peloton’s brightest Grand Tour GC prospects finally on the same side.
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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- 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
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- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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