A strong showing at GP Indurain nets our young Dane 3rd place in his first race since crashing out of Paris-Nice
It didn’t take long to see Mattias Skjelmose shine again. After an abrupt withdrawal from Paris-Nice due to a bad crash, the young Dane returned to racing today at GP Indurain jumping straight back onto the podium. Mattias donned his Pirelli podium cap and filled the third step, behind Izagirre (Cofidis) and Higuita (Bora-Hansgrohe).
Clearly, Mattias’ good early season form seen in February, where he collected two wins and three podiums, has not disappeared. Far from it. Today Skjelmose stood out again, showing his condition and tactical intelligence, especially when the decisive selection began.
GP Indurain 2023: 1st Izagirre, 2nd Higuita and 3rd Skjelmose
Until 50km to the finish, the moment when the early breakaway was caught, Mattias was hardly seen. Always safely tucked away in the belly of the peloton, saving energy, thanks also to the valuable support of his teammates. Then, as the pace increased and the group was reduced, he began to occupy the first positions.
When Izagirre broke away along with Higuita, Skjelmose held his position in the chasing group. Then, on the final climb, he attacked and secured third place, crossing the line alone at 13″ from the winner.
Mattias' reaction
“It was a good result in the end. When I passed the finish line, I realized I had maybe the legs for more, but it was not an easy finale to handle. Maybe I played the game a bit too much and the two riders were good enough to keep their advantage. But I do think we did well today, we can be happy for our performance. My teammates did very good work to put me in the right position to fight for a top result; we showed one more time our good synergy.
“Of course the crash at Paris-Nice really disappointed me, but today I showed it’s definitely behind me. I think I recovered well. Today’s race and performance in general, give me the proof and the feeling we can be there, fighting for the big spots in such important races like Iztulia Basque Country [starting on Monday]. Again, today was a good day, but hopefully it’s only the start a good and successful week.”
