🎥 Lidl-Trek shares good news after Mattias Skjelmose's horrible crash

These were the first real images on TV. After some scenic shots, we finally got a look at the peloton 50 kilometers from the finish of the Paris-Nice queen stage — just in time to see Mattias Skjelmose go down hard. The Lidl-Trek rider, sitting third in the general classification, was forced to abandon the race. He was on the ground in a lot of pain but seems not to have been seriously injured.

The peloton was riding on a slight uphill false flat when a traffic island suddenly appeared. Visma | Lease a Bike led the pack and swerved around it to the right. A Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe rider took the left. The riders behind had to react instantly. Daan Hoole, riding in front of Skjelmose, pointed at the obstacle before also moving right. But the Dane was on the wrong side, clipped the island with his wheel, and crashed hard onto his side.

His head also bounced off the asphalt, making it look even worse. He stayed down but remained conscious — though it was clear he was in serious pain. Hoole immediately had a guilty expression on his face, though he wasn’t necessarily at fault. Mads Pedersen stopped right away to check on his teammate, but he could already see it wasn’t good. Skjelmose was quickly attended to by team staff and medics, who, in the cold and rain, covered him with a blanket. It was obvious his race was over. Paris-Nice will now continue without the third-place rider in the GC.

Continue reading below the footage of the crash.

Pedersen could not help: "He was in much pain"

The crash was so severe that Skjelmose was transported to the hospital by ambulance, his team later reported. Lidl-Trek will provide more updates once more is known. Pedersen was one of the first to reach his injured compatriot. "I had just returned from a toilet break and heard on the radio that he had crashed," he told Cycling Pro Net about the incident. "I saw him on the ground, but there was not much I could do. I asked if he was okay, but he was in a lot of pain. But I had to continue."

Nearly two hours after the race, Lidl-Trek released an initial update with good news: no fractures were found during a follow-up examination. Skjelmose did require stitches to his elbow, and will undergo further checks.

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