Mattias Skjelmose: The Blond Assassin

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Logic-is-your-friend

Logic-is-your-friend

Jun 7, 2011
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Hugo Koblet said:
Wow, what a win. To beat Pogacar and Evenepoel fair and square like that? He was simply the best rider today. Very impressive!
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Simply the best in terms of finishing order, that much is clear. But the strongest, he was not, surely we can agree on that. That doesn't mean he didn't deserve the win. He played it fair, contributed as much as he could (i honestly feared he was going to wheelsuck Evenepoel all the way, so i was pleasantly surprised).
Pogacar luring Evenepoel to start the sprint early might very well have opened the door for Skjelmose to beat him. With a shorter sprint (if Evenepoel doesn't start so soon due to Pogacar's move) chances are Skjelmose can't overtake Pogacar before the line.
Not that it matters much. It was a great race, great finale, and a great win for Skjelmose. Cycling won today and i'm just happy there are still some riders who won't capitulate to Pogacar's dominance by default.
 
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Boehmand

Boehmand

Mar 5, 2023
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QueenStagiaire said:
Well, what does ‚best rider‘ mean here? I think he was the first rider to complete the course (as you said fair and square) and thus of course the deserving winner. If that‘s your definition of best rider I agree. If you say that he was the best rider in the sense that he had the best cards to win today, that‘s clearly not true.
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There are many ways to win, luck, cheating, dishonourable riding, team tactics, long range solo while tactics behind spoil the chase, etc.

Today was none to those, all 3 took off on their own, then came together before the finale, and sprinted it out fair and square.

I did not for a second think Skjelmose could win that when they were on the final K, and I think very few did, until he was suddenly alongside Pogacar.
 
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Hugo Koblet

Hugo Koblet

May 9, 2010
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Boehmand said:
I did not for a second think Skjelmose could win that when they were on the final K, and I think very few did, until he was suddenly alongside Pogacar.
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Really? I had him as the favorite (or at least joint favorite with Evenepoel) to win that sprint the way it played out. Evenepoel took most of the turns the final kms and Pogacar was spent. I do think that Evenepoel got tricked by Pogacar and started his sprint too early.
 
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Samu Cuenca

Samu Cuenca

Sep 26, 2020
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Hugo Koblet said:
Really? I had him as the favorite (or at least joint favorite with Evenepoel) to win that sprint the way it played out. Evenepoel took most of the turns the final kms and Pogacar was spent. I do think that Evenepoel got tricked by Pogacar and started his sprint too early.
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I didn't see him as the favourite either and neither did he, based on the way he rode and what he said afterwards.
 
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Red Rick

Red Rick

Feb 20, 2012
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Hugo Koblet said:
Really? I had him as the favorite (or at least joint favorite with Evenepoel) to win that sprint the way it played out. Evenepoel took most of the turns the final kms and Pogacar was spent. I do think that Evenepoel got tricked by Pogacar and started his sprint too early.
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The same Pogacar beat Mads Pedersen in a sprint before puking his guts out after the finish, I fully expected him to still win after he got caught.
 
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Samu Cuenca

Samu Cuenca

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Hugo Koblet said:
Yeah, I heard that interview as well. He should believe more in himself 🙂
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To be fair to him, he hadn't won in over a year (the Danish NC ITT debacle excluded) and there's not really any shame in doubting yourself when up against two of the strongest riders in the World.

I still maintain he could easily have wheelsucked after they caught Pogačar, which should in theory have improved his chances, but then I also have no idea what the last message he received regarding their gap to G2 was.
 
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Boehmand

Boehmand

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CyclistAbi said:
Out sprinting reigning World and Olympic champions, doesn't get much better then this.
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IMO it shows great promise for monuments in future, as he seems to have become very durable at 250K+

I'll also be interested to see what this win does for his riding style going forward, as it has been kinda defencive since he has started the journey towards becoming a top GC rider (which has also resulted in few 1-day races on his calender).

I hope we see him pop off a bit more in 1-day races because of today.
 
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kn0s

Jul 25, 2022
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Boehmand said:
IMO it shows great promise for monuments in future, as he seems to have become very durable at 250K+

I'll also be interested to see what this win does for his riding style going forward, as it has been kinda defencive since he has started the journey towards becoming a top GC rider (which has also resulted in few 1-day races on his calender).

I hope we see him pop off a bit more in 1-day races because of today.
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I put the defensive approach down to Kim Andersen mostly, it's sort of his style I think.
 
Tricycle Rider

Tricycle Rider

Feb 9, 2013
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Boehmand said:
I had no idea he was until you just told me - Danes tend to not speak about religion much.

But I found this article, from last year (in Danish) that some may find interesting.

www.euroman.dk

Med hjælp fra Gud og en ekstrem arbejdsetik er Mattias Skjelmose gået fra klassens taber til Danmarksmester

Mattias Skjelmose var aldrig særlig god til noget. Han var, med egne ord, en taber, der ikke rigtigt havde noget kørende for sig. Men så fandt han cykelsporten, hvor han kunne blive en vinder, hvis han bare arbejdede hårdt nok. Vi cyklede en tur på hjemstavnen Amager med danmarksmesteren, der...
www.euroman.dk www.euroman.dk

Since he's a devout Catholic, it seems like a missed opportunity he was not nicknamed "Crusader" when he rode in the Dannebrog jersey ;) - But then such a nick name may be polarising these days :)
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Interesting article, Skjelmose sounds like he would be a hard person to get to know, even harder than Vingo. But whatever works for him, and I'm certainly glad about his big win at AGR yesterday.

Thanks for posting this! :)
 
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M

memyselfandI

Jun 4, 2009
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Tricycle Rider said:
Interesting article, Skjelmose sounds like he would be a hard person to get to know, even harder than Vingo. But whatever works for him, and I'm certainly glad about his big win at AGR yesterday.

Thanks for posting this! :)
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Actually it looks like he's a player w/ media I think, playing surprised. Me? Really? Well what do you know? :D

Just when looking his 2024 results, how he tt'ed in Dane nationals, how he challenged various top dogs during season in quality races.. He's high end tool if form is on. And if his overall fitness has gone up anything at all, like it should in his age.. Should be money.
 
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Boehmand

Boehmand

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SHAD0W93 said:
TDS is more prestigious race than AGR. You’re adding more value due to beating Pogacar and Evenepoel. Skjelmose Is adding value due to the setbacks he has had making it a bigger win in his view.
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I think they are on par.

The monuments are the equivalent to the Grand Tours in 1 day racing.

The next tier in stage racing is P-N, Tirreno, Catalunya, Itzulia, Romandie, Dauphine and TDS.

In 1 day racing the next tier is Omloop, Strade, E3, Wevelgem, Dwars, Amstel, Fleche and San Sebastian.
 
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