After a significant period of sickness which forced him to miss both the Criterium du Dauphiné and Tour de Suisse, Mattias Skjelmose returned to winning ways in the first-ever Andorra MontBanc Classic.
The Lidl-Trek squad featured several riders racing on their adopted home turf, including Skjelmose. The Dane was kept out of trouble all day by his teammates, knowing that the final ascent of Coll de la Botella would be the decisive section. Skjelmose approached the summit as part of a group of five climbers vying for the victory. With 200 meters to the line, Skjelmose made a savvy acceleration to take the inside line, and continued to power his way to the finish, taking the win by two bike lengths over his rivals.
“Of course [I’m happy]! I was sick for a long time and lost both the Dauphiné and Suisse,” explained Skjelmose at the finish. “Luckily, I could do this race, and I think the shape is there for the Tour [de France]. I was feeling good all day and the guys did a perfect job. I did my own pace and knew if I could come there that I could sprint.
“This was super good, we had to see how this race was going, but the Tour is a completely different race so we will have to see, but after today I’m more confident, I think we can do a good Tour. I’m looking forward to [it].”
