Lidl-Trek sees Skjelmose crack, but Ayuso proves tough in 'best of the rest' behind Pogačar

Lidl-Trek is one of the teams in this Tour de France that came to the start with ambitions in both the sprint and the general classification. So far, the team has managed to combine those goals exceptionally well, but how will they fare in the grueling remainder of the Tour de France? On Saturday morning, IDL Pro Cycling asked Toms Skujins, who offered insightful analysis.

When we spoke with Let before the start of Stage 14, he said he was still holding up just fine. “There have already been some really tough days where the pace was very fast. Overall, I’m feeling pretty good,” he said about the first thirteen Tour stages. During those stages, we saw general classification contenders Juan Ayuso and Mattias Skjelmose in action for a bit, but the focus was mainly on Pedersen’s battle for the green jersey.

That battle now seems to be taking a back seat, as the general classification contenders are back in the spotlight. “We’re definitely shifting our focus a bit more toward the general classification now,” Skujins admitted. However, the green jersey remains a goal every day. “It helps that the intermediate sprints are early in the stage. Once those are over, you can really focus on the general classification.”

Because there are still some very important days ahead for Pedersen later in the Tour. “Mads obviously needs to save some energy for the coming days,” his Latvian domestique noted, looking ahead. That’s when the sprinter teams will take center stage again, hoping to knock Pedersen out of the green jersey. Teams like Alpecin-Premier Tech and NSN have the lineups for that, too.

And what about Lidl-Trek itself? “We actually have a pretty good core of climbers here, but the pure sprints were probably where we were a bit short-handed. The lead-out isn’t necessarily this team’s greatest strength,” Skujins admitted. “We just went for the intermediate sprints, and then focused on the general classification for the rest of the day. That might be what this team does best.”

In the general classification, the German-American team is still in excellent shape. Thanks to the dual leadership of Ayuso and Skjelmose, it still has two riders in the top ten. “It definitely helps that we have two riders there, because they can always help each other out,” Skujins said. “Maybe there will be a day when if one goes early, the other will have the advantage.”

Saturday’s stage resulted in a slight loss of time, but not in terms of position. Ayuso (who did lose the white jersey) is still in 5th place, and Skjelmose even moved up one spot to 8th, despite having to drop back from the favorites. UAE employed the same wrecking-hammer tactics as before. “It’s often just survival of the fittest because of the way UAE rides,” Skujins said, drawing on the theory of evolution.

“Toward the end, riders are often dropped, so they don’t get a chance to attack.” That was the tactic again on Saturday, and it could very well be the case once more in the upcoming mountain stages. “If Tadej and UAE keep doing what they’re doing—riding uphill at a very high pace—then once you get dropped, it’s basically just a time trial to the finish.”

"For now, this is how things stand, but of course we have two tough weekends coming up," Skujins said, still holding out hope.