\u201cWhen Alaphilippe attacked, I was somewhat blocked by Ben Healy,\u201d he said. \u201cAfterwards I missed the connection by five metres, partly because I decided not to completely blow myself up. Looking back, that was the right tactic.\u201d<\/p>\n
It meant riding his own pace rather than detonating his effort early. \u201cObviously I had a very good day, but purely in terms of feeling, I\u2019ve had better days in 2025.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"evenepoel](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/evenepoel-pogacar-skjelmose-6805141cce637.jpg@webp.webp\")
<\/p>\n
Skjelmose was left in disbelief as he crossed the line ahead of Pogacar and Evenepoel<\/p>\n
\u201cI had control on the Cauberg\u201d \u2013 Skjelmose on going head-to-head with two of the sport\u2019s arguably biggest modern superstars<\/p>\n
By the last ascent of the Cauberg, Skjelmose, Pogacar and Evenepoel were locked together, setting up an unexpected three-way showdown. \u201cThe last time Cauberg, I had control,\u201d Skjelmose recalled. \u201cI think Remco was mainly riding tempo and wasn\u2019t necessarily trying to drop us. We all trusted our sprint.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the finish approached, he refused to let the scale of the opportunity disrupt his mindset. \u201cWas I nervous in the final? No, why would I be? I wanted to do the best sprint I could \u2014 then I\u2019d finish first, second or third.\u201d<\/p>\n
More importantly, he says he didn\u2019t allow the reputations beside him to cloud his judgement. \u201cIt\u2019s a quality not to overthink everything. I focused on what I had to do and didn\u2019t think about the size of the race or the chance to beat two of the best riders in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Moments later, he threw his bike the hardest and took the most symbolic victory of his career.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were all on the limit\u201d \u2013 the sprint that decided everything<\/p>\n
Skjelmose said the numbers from the final were far from spectacular \u2014 the race had been too hard for that. \u201cThe gap to the chasers was big enough that I could play the game by not always pulling,\u201d he explained.\u00a0\u201cI\u2019ve no idea how many watts I pushed in the sprint, but it wasn\u2019t very impressive. The race had been so hard that we were all on the limit.\u201d<\/p>\n
He doesn\u2019t have a framed reminder at home, but he does keep one particular image saved. \u201cI don\u2019t have a photo hanging on the wall, but I saved a few nice ones. The best is where we all throw our bikes at the line.\u201d<\/p>\n