Skjelmose regrets statements about 'fellow nerd' Ayuso: 'I told him I was sorry'

Mattias Skjelmose was considered the man for Lidl-Trek in recent years when it came to grand tours, but with the arrival of Juan Ayuso, those responsibilities will have to be increasingly shared in 2026. The Dane spoke frankly about shared duties at the German-American formation's media day; IDLProCycling was there.

The winner of last year's Amstel Gold Race has one main goal for 2026, he confided to us in answer to question one. 'The Ardennes. That's it. And the World Championships.' No grand tours, then? 'I will ride the Tour, but it won't be my main goal. I will support Juan and the Tour podium ambitions we have there.'

'Whether I asked for that myself? I didn't. But the team presented me with my race calendar and suggested I be the leader in the Ardennes classics, with the condition that I would then support Juan in the Tour.'That's a good deal,' I thought. 'I understand the decision and so I support it.'

Ayuso was allowed to take a seat in front of journalists before Skjelmose and had it recorded that he would also be going to the Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. 'As far as I know, that wasn't the case,' the Dane responded. 'That's new information for me. I was told that I would be the only leader. That Juan will also be there? The next talk is gonna be nice...'

These words from the Dane were already heavily picked up in the global cycling media, after Skjelmose commented on Ayuso's arrival a few months ago. 'It was a bit of a strange situation. The team never officially notified me, despite the fact that I knew quite early on. I found that a little strange," Skjelmose revealed at the time.

'If Ayuso finds it difficult to ride for Tadej Pogacar at UAE, I don't know if he wants to help me at all, when it comes down to it,' he continued at the time. Skjelmose disclosed in mid-December that he already talked about it with Ayuso. 'I told him I was sorry that the media, as always, blew it up,' he clearly sounded. 'He is smart and understood.'

'When I said it, I knew it would be magnified,' Skjelmose now looks back on it. 'I regret saying it in the media, I should have kept that internal. But it's also unfortunate, that things are taken out of context. That's how the media works... if you actually read it, you'll see that I didn't say anything bad about Juan. It was more about the course of events, which I was somewhat disappointed about.'

'I have nothing against Juan personally and look forward to working with him. We've spoken twice and he's a cool guy. A bit of a nerd, like myself, when it comes to material and optimization,' he sees the similarities. 'We can mirror each other and that's good, for both of us.'

At Lidl-Trek, they are aware of that situation with multiple leaders. 'Me and Juan share the lead in both Paris-Nice and the Basque Country. We have to build a relationship and therefore also get to know each other's strengths and weaknesses, which you do by racing each other,' the Dane knows all too well.

Next, they will also ride together in the Ardennes (and Limburg). 'They have always been my favorite races, but winning the Amstel Gold Race helped me even more in that choice. It was special that I was able to beat both Tadej and Remco Evenepoel there, and I don't think anyone expected that.'

'Looking back I don't really do, but since it's the background picture on my mother's phone, it's hard not to look back on it.... I will never forget that day in any case,' says Skjelmose. '49 times out of 50 they will beat me, but what I take away from the Amstel is that if I do everything right and they make some mistakes, something is possible. And with me, a lot of riders. If I do everything right and so do they, it will be difficult. I'm aware of that.

'And I have unfinished business with Liège, with more motivation,' says the number four of the World Cup in Rwanda. 'I would also like to ride the Tour of Flanders one day, preferably with Mads Pedersen, but it also has to fit. If you really want to go for the Ardennes, including altitude training, it is difficult. But with the way people are racing nowadays, it is something that is more and more for climbers like me.'

With Ayuso on board, the Tour stage is the goal, whereas Skjelmose has been talking about the 2025 Tour as a dot on the horizon for years. "I feel right at home at Lidl-Trek and the team feels like family. At the moment I don't see myself riding anywhere else so soon. With Lidl on board, my goal has also become the team's goal. It's all about the team wanting to win the Tour or ride the podium. I am part of that puzzle, because we want to be the next team to win the Tour.'

'In recent years it was always Sky, Visma or UAE. I think in 2014 Nibali was the last one from another team to win the Tour, but we want to be there too. Whether that's with me, Juan or someone else: we have that goal as a team,' the Dane concluded about the ever-growing ambitions within Lidl-Trek.

Skjelmose committed his future to Lidl-Trek on Monday. ''It’s been a super special journey. When I came into the Team, Vincenzo Nibali was the big star here, and now with Lidl, Trek and other huge sponsors the project has become so much bigger. Growing with the Team is something really special – you never know what the future brings, but the fact that I came in at the time I did, and now it feels like the Team and me have grown together. The ambition has always been there, but it took a bit of time to reach where we wanted to be, and it’s super nice that I can continue this journey with the Team.

“The fact that our individual goals align with the team goals has always made us so powerful as a team. We haven’t always had the biggest budget, but we always got the most out of every rider, and that’s mainly because we always find the ability to work for each other and help each other over-perform, as well as just being able to have a real team feeling. I’ve never spoken with someone who wouldn’t want to join this Team, and that’s all down to our team spirit. We’re having fun all the time, no matter who we are with at the races. I could be rooming with any single one of them and I would have just as much fun. I haven’t been in other teams, but I’m pretty sure you don’t find this feeling in every team.

“I feel at home, I’ve never been a super social guy but this Team made it so much easier. I feel like I fit in in a whole new way. It’s difficult to leave home, but I was really looking forward to coming here to camp to see every single person, from riders to management to every single member of staff, we all have so much fun and we’re all equal, and that’s super special. I really enjoy the environment that nobody is above the rest.”