Mattias Skjelmose of Trek-Segafredo secured overall victory at the Tour de Suisse on Sunday and did it in a dramatic fashion.
The eighth and final stage of the tour was an 25.7-kilometer individual time trial, meaning Skjelmose had to protect his 8-second general classification lead all by himself. He was over 20 seconds down at the first intermediate checkpoint, but the 22-year-old proved that his pacing strategy was perfectly thought out to seal the first WorldTour General Classification win of his career.
Skjelmose used the short but tough climb to his advantage, using the top as his virtual finish line, and pulling back time on his closest GC rivals, before the fast descent into the finish.
In the end, the young Dane stopped the clock nine seconds behind the stage winner, Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates), who started the day 18 seconds behind Skjelmose, and just one second behind Remco Evenepoel (Soudal – Quick-Step) to secure his place on the top step of the podium.
“This win is a breakthrough for me. I had a really good season until now but this is my first step on the really big stage,” Skjelmose said. “I’m even more excited for the Tour now, but I also know that the Tour is a whole other level than this: a lot more stress, everybody is in top shape, and I think it’s going to be a really big learning process for me.”
Team Jumbo-Visma’s leader in the race, Wilco Kelderman, finished fourth overall. Evenepoel finished third and Ayuso second behind Skjelmose in the GC and youth division. Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) won the points jersey with 52. Pascal Eenkhoorn (Lotto Dstny) won the King of the Mountain title with 44 points. AG2R Citroen Team won the team title.
The win also gives Skjelmose some added confidence heading into the Tour de France.
“I’m going to try to do GC in the Tour de France,” he said. “That’s the plan and I believe I can do a good one, still with the knowledge that it’s a bit untouched territory for me so we will go into it with respect and no pressure.”
The death of Gino Mader also cast a pall over the final stages of the race. Skjelmose’s teammate, Quinn Simmons of Durango, was one of nearly 40 cyclists who withdrew from the race.
“I’ve had mixed emotions over the last few days,” Kelderman said. “Because of all the events, you don't feel like going deep. You don't have your mind on it.”
“Of course it’s been an emotional roller coaster, a big high with my stage win in Villars-sur-Ollon to a much bigger low with Gino’s death,” Skjelmose said. “I wanted to win for Gino, I think everyone today raced for him. I wanted to give something back. Everyone I spoke to said he was the most wonderful person you could ever imagine but sadly I didn’t know him personally but I wanted to give something back to him because he gave so much to a lot of other people.”
“Everything is relative after the terrible events,” said Jumbo-Visma sports director Marc Reef. “We put everything in a different light, and everything becomes very relative. So we can be happy with Wilco's fourth place. He has had a long rehabilitation period and has worked hard. It's a boost for him but also for us as a team. Nevertheless, it's good that we can finish this race now. I think we all want to go home to our families.”
