"You can’t make mistakes without paying for them in the end" - Mattias Skjelmose agonisingly denied podium in Kigali by Ben Healy

Mattias Skjelmose came agonisingly close to a first World Championship road race medal on Sunday, finishing fourth in Kigali, just behind Ben Healy, and 2 minutes 53 seconds down on the dominant Tadej Pogacar. The Danish rider had been in the thick of the action for much of the race, but the combination of relentless climbs, punishing cobbled sections, and tactical decisions in the final laps ultimately left him off the podium.

“You can’t make many mistakes without paying for them in the end,” Skjelmose admitted after the race in conversation with TV2 Sport. “It’s really frustrating — I was empty, and Ben was just better today.”

Skjelmose had anticipated attacks from his fellow chasers Evenepoel and Healy, but his legs refused to respond when it mattered most. “I was done. I knew Remco Evenepoel would ride, and I was hoping it would be as late as possible. Luckily, Ben wasn’t fully committed to the pace, so I could just ride with him. I honestly believed I could hold on until the end, but my legs just wouldn’t respond,” he explained.

The decisive moves had come over Mont Kigali and the subsequent cobbled climbs, where Pogacar launched his long-range solo to take control of the race. Skjelmose managed to stay with the main chase group, but the punishing terrain and constant accelerations left little margin for error. “If I had been with Ben over the penultimate climb, maybe I could have pulled something extra out of the bag. But I just didn’t have anything left,” Skjelmose said.

Despite finishing off the podium, the Dane acknowledged the effort of his team in the closing stages. “Everyone did what they could to deliver me into the World Championship finish. I’m proud of how we raced, even if it didn’t produce a medal,” he said.

Danish national coach Michael Morkov reflected on the performance: “Mattias looked really strong in the finale. We believed silver and bronze were possible, sitting in the group with Remco and Ben, so of course it’s incredibly frustrating that it ended up being fourth.”

While the rainbow jersey eluded him, Skjelmose’s performance was a reminder of the fine margins at the elite level: preparation, timing, and resilience matter as much as raw strength, and even a near-perfect ride can leave a rider agonisingly short of the podium.