Mattias Skjelmose bounced back from illness at the weekend to round off his preparations to lead Lidl-Trek at the Tour de France with a second victory of the season at the inaugural edition of the Andorra MoraBanc Clàssica.
The Dane, who will take on the Tour for the second time in his career, saw his preparation for July badly disrupted after he suffered a stomach infection earlier this month.
He was forced to miss both the Critérium du Dauphiné following a bout of the illness that left him "with a fever and no real ability to eat or recover properly," he said in a post to Facebook. An attempted comeback at the Tour de Suisse was also cancelled after the illness returned.
"This isn't the first time things haven't gone to plan – and it won't be the last. But being honest about where I stand doesn't make me any less committed. If anything, it makes the goal even clearer. The Tour de France is still the priority – and I'm fully focused on being ready," Skjelmose wrote on Facebook when announcing he'd miss Suisse.
He returned to action on Sunday in his home base of Andorra, however, getting in one last race day before the Tour at the 115km one-day race, which featured four major climbs and 3,500 metres of elevation.
After three-and-a-half hours of racing, Skjelmose crossed the line first, beating Cristián Rodríguez (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Enric Mas (Movistar), and Esteban Chaves (EF Education-EasyPost) to the line in a four-man sprint.
He'll now head to the Tour Grand Départ in Lille on July 5 with a vital win in the bag and his illness behind him.
"Of course I'm happy! I was sick for a long time and missed both the Dauphiné and the Tour de Suisse," Skjelmose told CyclismActu after the race. "Luckily, I was able to do this race, and I think the form is there for the Tour de France.
"I felt good all day, and the guys did a perfect job. I rode at my own pace, and I knew if I got there, I could sprint."
2023 Tour de Suisse winner Skjelmose made his Tour debut two years ago, finishing 29th overall, having recorded five top-10 finishes along the way and spending four days in the break. Last summer, he raced to fifth overall at the Vuelta a España, while this season he won his first major Classic, beating Tadej Pogačar and Remco Evenepoel at Amstel Gold Race.
Lidl-Trek have yet to confirm their lineup for the Tour, but Skjelmose will be joined by sprinter Jonathan Milan and all-rounder Thibau Nys as the team aims for success on multiple fronts in France. He acknowledged that the Tour is a different challenge to the Andorran one-dayer but said he can now head to France with renewed confidence.
"It was really great, we had to see how this race would go, but the Tour de France is a completely different race, so we'll see. But after today, I have more confidence, I think we can have a good Tour. I'm looking forward to it."
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