Why Skjelmose’s storyline is one of the most interesting to watch in this Vuelta

Danish rider Mattias Skjelmose is one of the few true GC leaders who has built his entire season around the Vuelta a España. This focus might position the Lidl-Trek rider as an underdog, but the team showed on day one that they are well-prepared for this Tour of Spain. IDLProCycling.com spoke with the team’s strategist, Steven de Jongh.

Since Lidl came on board, Lidl-Trek has taken a step forward in all aspects, but this Vuelta is the first grand tour of the year where they’re genuinely aiming for the GC. "We had similar plans for the Giro and the Tour," says De Jongh. "We wanted to target the Giro with Giulio Ciccone, but he had a saddle sore and had to withdraw. And Tao Geoghegan Hart was supposed to lead us in the Tour, but he crashed in the Dauphiné. So, yeah… finally, we have someone fit who made it here without issues," De Jongh says with his characteristic laugh. 7

Skjelmose’s case is intriguing regardless. The Dane admitted as early as December that his 2024 season would be centered around the Vuelta. Why? "This will be my third grand tour, but it’s the first real test for me. I haven’t achieved any major results in the overall classification yet, but I feel that the time is right."

A look at the past shows us that riders who focus solely on the Vuelta as their grand tour often rise to the occasion. Juan Ayuso (fourth) and Cian Uijtdebroeks (eighth) in 2023, Remco Evenepoel’s victory in 2022—where debutant Ayuso also made the podium—and in earlier seasons, Tadej Pogacar (2019, third), Enric Mas (2018, second), and of course, the veteran Chris Horner, who won in 2014. Except for Horner, all these riders were young, at the beginning of their careers.

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The 23-year-old Skjelmose has performed well this season in races like Paris-Nice, the Tour of the Basque Country, and the Tour de Suisse, but now he wants to take the next step to the three-week stage races. He aims to do this by overcoming two issues from the past: the heat and his recovery ability. "For me, it’s all about conserving as much energy as possible and striking when it really counts. My ambition was to come to the start here as physically and mentally fresh as possible."

Skjelmose had to wait a long time for his big 2024 goal

While many of his colleagues were riding the Giro and/or the Tour, Skjelmose was at high altitude. "It’s a matter of planning, but I don’t think the preparation is very different for the riders," says De Jongh. The Dutchman explains why Skjelmose hasn’t yet succeeded in the grand tours.

"In the 2022 Giro, the circumstances were very different. Last year, he was already very strong in Switzerland before the Tour, and we knew then that it would probably decline," De Jongh says. "Now he’s had the proper build-up. What we’re focusing on is that a bad day doesn’t necessarily mean your GC result is ruined. We try to remind him that even with a bad day, he can save his position. He showed that in Switzerland, so he has that mental toughness. But it’s challenging."

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"He puts a lot of pressure on himself, but all top athletes do. And they need that pressure to perform," observes De Jongh, who has previously coached stars like Alberto Contador. "You can support them, but you can’t take that pressure away. It’s the same in this Vuelta: the race is structured in a certain way, and I think there will be many opportunities for breakaways, so we discuss that. But it’s still a three-week race, and you want to stand on the highest podium. For the GC riders, there’s always the race within the race, so there’s always some pressure and stress. It’s always exciting."

Perhaps due to the lack of a reference point, Skjelmose didn’t appear on many favorites’ lists. "I think he’s often underestimated. Every year, he takes a significant step forward, and he’s already won some impressive races," says De Jongh, who made sure his leader had strong support. With riders like Ciccone, Hart, Patrick Konrad, Sam Oomen, and Carlos Verona, there’s plenty of power in the team.

Skjelmose certainly didn’t miss his start. The compact climber finished 13th in the opening time trial and later shared that he rode "his best ever wattages" on a time trial bike. "I’m really happy with this, and I don’t think I could have ridden any faster," the Dane said in Oerias. "It’s always nice to start well. In Denmark, we say: a good start is half the battle, so that definitely applies here."

Skjelmose isn’t setting specific goals for his Vuelta just yet; instead, he’s focused on how he feels heading into the crucial 2025 season. "Whether it’s a top-five or top-ten finish in the GC doesn’t matter much to me. I just don’t want to crack. The 2025 Tour has been a major goal of mine since the start of my career. If I want to achieve anything there, I first need to show here that I can last for three weeks," the confident Dane from Lidl-Trek explained.