Major setback keeps intended Tour leader Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) out of Tour de Suisse as well

So, if you look at the start list for the Critérium du Dauphiné, you will see many top riders for the upcoming Tour de France. UAE Emirates-XRG has Pogacar, Visma | Lease a Bike has Vingegaard, Soudal Quick-Step has Evenepoel, Bahrain Victorious has both Lenny Martinez and Santiago Buitrago, INEOS Grenadiers has Carlos Rodríguez, and Movistar has Enric Mas. At Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, Primoz Roglic is not present after his unfortunate Giro d'Italia, but why is Lidl-Trek without a lead rider?

Looking at the seven riders in the German-American team, there don't seem to be any ambitions for the GC. With Jonathan Milan, they have the man to beat in the stages that end in a sprint, and Toms Skujins and Jasper Stuyven also have attacking options for the more difficult stages. Julien Bernard, Simone Consonni, Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier, and Edward Theuns complete the Lidl-Trek line-up, but the absence of Mattias Skjelmose is striking. The Dane had been lined up for the Dauphiné for some time but was withdrawn at the last minute.

So the question is: why did Lidl-Trek leave its lead rider Skjelmose at home? This media outlet asked the team, and a response followed on Friday. "He was a little ill after the altitude training camp, so the decision was made to give him more time to recover," Lidl-Trek told IDLProCycling.com.

Skjelmose will, therefore, take a little more rest than initially planned, after which he will head to the Tour de Suisse. The Dane has already had a lot of success in that race. He competed in it for the first time in 2023, finishing the eight-day event with a stage win and the overall victory. However, there was a dark cloud hanging over the race, as Gino Mäder crashed in the fifth stage and later died from his injuries. A year later, Skjelmose competed in the Tour de Suisse again, finishing third three times and also third in the overall standings. He won the jersey for the best young rider.

Skjelmose later posted some more information on Instagram. “Unfortunately, I won't be competing in the Dauphiné this year. I've been off the bike for a week with a stomach infection, which gave me a fever and prevented me from eating properly to recover. I've been back on the bike for a few days now, and things are improving slightly.”

“I'm feeling better on the bike, but my body is still recovering, and I've lost some strength and weight,” said the disappointed Dane. "This is another setback, mainly because of the timing. But it's part of the sport. The plan now is to build up to the Tour de Suisse and then be fully ready for the Tour. There's still time, and I'm focusing on getting where I want to be,“ he sounded motivated.

A few days later, he added that the Tour de Suisse was no longer an option. “A few days ago, I shared that I’d been off the bike for about a week with a stomach infection, but that I was back training and starting to rebuild my strength and rhythm. Not long after, the illness came back - more intense than before, but fortunately it passed quickly.“

”We’ve done a number of tests and are still waiting on some results to get a clearer picture of what’s been going on,“ said Skjelmose. ”After speaking with the team and my coach, we made the call not to race Tour de Suisse. There just isn’t enough time to get back to the level I want to be at. The focus now is on recovering properly, finding rhythm again, and rebuilding what I lost. Everything from here is about being ready for the Tour de France."

“This season has been a quiet lesson in patience. Not everything breaks with noise - sometimes it just slips out of rhythm. That’s what this stretch has felt like. It’s been frustrating, yes. But I’ve learned to listen, not rush. To recalibrate without losing sight of the road ahead” he adds. “his isn’t the first time things haven’t gone to plan - and it won’t be the last. But being honest about where I stand doesn’t make me any less committed. If anything, it makes the goal even clearer. The Tour de France is still the priority - and I’m fully focused on being ready.”