"This was really important for me" - Mattias Skjelmose bounces back at Tour de Suisse to reclaim White Jersey and close on podium

The winner of the Tour de Suisse in 2023, Mattias Skjelmose's hopes of reclaiming his title took another blow on the short and sharp stage 6. There was however, a silver lining as the Lidl-Trek man rode himself into the White Jersey for Best Young Rider.

"This was really important for me," assessed a delighted Skjelmose, who bounced back strongly from a disappointing stage 5 to climb with the best on stage 6, only losing time at the end to UAE Team Emirates duo Adam Yates and Joao Almeida. "For morale, for the team that believe in me, to be in back in white and close to the podium again is really valuable for me."

After six stages, the reigning Tour de Suisse champion sits in fourth in the general classification, 2:24 off the Maillot Jaune of Adam Yates, making a second victory unlikely. The 23-year-old Dane is just 56 seconds behind Egan Bernal who currently holds onto the third spot on the podium however, giving Skjelmose something to aim for in the final two stages.

"The climb was really nice. The team brought me to the bottom perfectly and I couldn't have asked for more," Skjelmose assesses of the stage, which only lasted just over 40km due to bad weather in the region but was highlighted by a very steep climb towards the line in the finale. "INEOS Grenadiers and then UAE started with a strong tempo that suited me and I'm really proud of how I kept Adam close. If he is anywhere near Tour shape, I'm really proud of being so close to him."