Not everything is going according to plan for Mattias Skjelmose as he approaches the Tour de France, where the Lidl-Trek rider will look to improve on his performance following his fifth-place finish at the 2024 Vuelta a España.

The 24-year-old Dane, despite his spectacular victory at the Amstel Gold Race ahead of phenoms like Tadej Pogačar and Remco Evenepoel in April, has had to face several obstacles this season.

'This season has been a silent lesson in patience,' Skjelmose said in a statement released by the Lidl-Trek team.

'Not everything breaks with a bang, sometimes you just lose your rhythm. It was frustrating, but I learned to listen, to take my time. To recalibrate without losing sight of the path to follow.'

Setbacks included a crash that ended his bid for a podium finish at Paris-Nice in March, another crash at the Flèche Wallonne, followed by health problems that altered his plans to compete in both the Critérium du Dauphiné and the Tour de Suisse.

Skjelmose, who finished 29th on his 2023 Tour de France debut, was initially scheduled to ride the 2025 Giro d'Italia, but in January it was decided to focus on the Tour. The latest setback was a stomach infection that prevented him from 'eating and recovering properly' after a period of altitude training.

'After talking to the team and my coach,' he explained, 'we decided not to ride the Tour de Suisse. There's not enough time to get back to the level I would like. Now the goal is to recover properly, get back into the rhythm and rebuild what I've lost. Everything is aimed at being ready for the Tour de France.'

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