Did Lidl-Trek hurt Pedersen and Skjelmose’s World Championship chances with Tour-Vuelta double? Coach responds

Lidl-Trek will leave the Vuelta a España empty-handed. The German-registered cycling team enjoyed such a strong Tour de France, with a stage victory and the points classification for Mads Pedersen, as well as two riders finishing inside the top ten of the general classification. In the Vuelta a España, however, almost nothing went according to plan, despite the team relying on the same leaders it had taken to the Tour.

On paper, the plan looked good: after an excellent Tour, Pedersen could go stage hunting at the Vuelta a España and use the racing to sharpen his legs as effectively as possible ahead of the World Championships in Montréal. Skjelmose, meanwhile, could build on the positive momentum from his sixth place at the Tour de France, just as so many riders in recent seasons have successfully combined the Tour with the Vuelta.

It did not work out that way. Pedersen was missing his very best form from day one, and during the second week that developed into an infection. The powerful Dane ultimately decided to abandon the race with the World Championships in mind, leaving Skjelmose as Lidl-Trek's sole remaining leader. The climber was far from poor, as demonstrated by his place inside the top ten for virtually the entire race. But he was not as strong as he had been during the final week of the Tour either.

Skjelmose was eventually exposed in the final climbing tests and, as a consequence, dropped out of the top ten. He had already lost significant ground on stage 19, but a day later he conceded no less than 25 minutes and slipped to 13th overall. That brought an end to his objective of challenging for a place on the podium. Thibau Nys, who had been given a wildcard role within the team, was unable to make a major impact either, aside from two third-place finishes.

For Lidl-Trek, then, the Vuelta did not turn into the race it had expected. Coach Josu Larrazabal acknowledged as much in Marca: “It has been a very difficult Vuelta, after everything went our way at the Tour and we achieved all of our objectives there. That will not be the case here. We have to stay humble and keep the motivation high. Losing Mads weakened the team, both on the bike and on the bus.”

The Spaniard does not know whether Pedersen and Skjelmose will be able to find another peak in their form ahead of the World Championships. The same question remains over Nys. “But we are happy to have Thibau here. This was an investment in getting him back on track after a difficult year, with the end of the season in mind. It also gives us something to build on for next year, so from that perspective we are satisfied, regardless of the results.”

Should Lidl-Trek have made different choices and avoided relying on Pedersen and Skjelmose again after such a demanding Tour de France? “It is easy to say that now. It is too early to draw those kinds of conclusions,” Larrazabal said. “All the fatigue tests we carried out after the Tour de France suggested the opposite.”

“We actually expected to make a very good start and perhaps have a difficult third week. But things already weren't right in the first week. The Vuelta is simply an extremely hard race, and the heat was intense. Mattias was dealing with some injuries and had a pretty heavy cold during the final week. But that is not directly related to the Tour de France.”