After his stage win at Etoile de Bessèges two weeks ago, Mattias Skjelmose has now also left his mark at the Tour des Alpes Maritimes et du Var.
The Danish rider from Trek-Segafredo claimed his second victory of the season by winning the small bunch sprint at the end of the second stage of Tour des Alpes Maritimes et du Var.
With one stage to go, Skjelmose is sitting in 5th position on the General Classification, 27” from the leader Vauquelin (Arkèa-Samsic) and 13” from Geniets (Groupama-FDJ) who’s currently third. He’s is now the leader of the Points Classification.
Skjelmose’s reaction:
Well, I don't think I need to say how happy I am about today’s win, I think it's obvious. It was not really expected so it feels super. In general, I’m really pleased with how I have started the season.
Yesterday, I was disappointed in the finale. I was sleeping in the key moment of the race when Vauquelin attacked. I had to be there and I wasn't so today, I was motivated not to do the same and to really make the most out of this opportunity and get the best out of my abilities. That’s what happened.
It was a very hard day, right from the beginning. It took a while for a breakaway to form and then the peloton kept it under control. The guys in front went really fast, it was stressful all day. We did not have a moment to breathe.
Vauquelin went really hard in the final and when he attacked, I said to myself to keep calm. I had the feeling that I was the fastest guy in that small group, but if I would have closed the gap immediately, I would have lost my chance to win in favor of the others. It was tricky, it was a risk, but I waited for the move from the other riders to catch him. I found myself in a great position for the sprint and I finished it off.
It wasn’t really necessary to have someone lead me out on this occasion, it was more a one-to-one challenge. However, I want to say thanks to my teammates for the efforts they all did behind the scenes to support me, helping me save energy for the finale.
With the time bonuses, the GC game is still open. Today I took some bonuses also in the intermediate sprint, tomorrow I won’t leave any stones unturned to win the GC. We came here to win, the chance is there and we’ll fight until the end to make it happen.
