Skjelmose openly truthful: "This is not the most beautiful way to win"

Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) managed to secure a victory impressively on Friday in a bombastic stage of Paris-Nice. The climber/puncheur finished it off in a group of three, which also included the Americans Brandon McNulty (UAE-Team Emirates) and Matteo Jorgenson (Visma | Lease a Bike). Together, they gained a significant lead over the other general classification contenders.

"I'm incredibly happy but also surprised," the day's winner noted in his flash interview. "I felt good all day, but these kinds of days are special. You really have to push through, and the team helped me perfectly with that. After Mads Pedersen was caught, he even rode at the front for a long time."

"That way, you minimize the luck you need," he thanks his Lidl-Trek team. Eventually, Skjelmose broke away with McNulty, after Jorgenson had already taken off earlier. "It wasn’t that I thought that was the moment. I thought Remco Evenepoel or Primoz Roglic, or someone else, would still close it down. However, they let me go," he continued. "I got some meters and then decided to just go for it, after which I could ride to Matteo with Brandon.

Skjelmose honest after victory in Paris-Nice: "The other guys were better"

Skjelmose is pleased with his first victory of the season. He is now 52 seconds behind McNulty in the general classification. "There have been bigger miracles in sports than me winning Paris-Nice now, but I think there are other guys stronger than me. This was maybe a strange win in a way because I could play it since I was further down in the standings. This is not the most beautiful way to win, they were better," said the Dane very honestly.