Mattias Skjelmose came into the Tour de France short on racing but was still hopeful he could have a good ride. After being sidelined by stomach issues that kept him out of both the Critérium du Dauphiné and the Tour de Suisse, the Amstel Gold Race winner salvaged some form by winning the Andorra MoraBanc Classic in late June.
Nine stages into the Tour, the 23-year-old Dane was sitting 10th overall and eyeing an opportunity to move up the GC on the race’s first major mountain stage. A good position to be with some of the big climbs coming. Unfortunately, Monday’s racing didn’t exactly go according to plan.
“I tried to get in the break once, and that was it—I gave up after that,” Skjelmose told Wielerflits after finishing 30th on the stage. “I said this morning it would be a great day to have good legs and a terrible one to have bad ones. Unfortunately, I had the bad kind.”
His dream of slipping into yellow via a successful break evaporated early. “With these legs, there was nothing I could do,” he said.
Stage 10 of the Tour de France delivered bold breakaway racing—and a little history. EF Education-Easypost’s Ben Healy moved into the overall lead, becoming the first Irishman in yellow since Stephen Roche in 1987.
Healy, already a stage winner in this year’s race, was part of a long-range move that also included Giro d’Italia champion Simon Yates. The Brit launched clear late to take his third career Tour de France stage win.
Behind, Tadej Pogačar limited the damage, finishing safely in the bunch and now sits 29 seconds behind Healy in the general classification.
Canada’s Michael Woods was active again and continues to build his tally in the mountains classification. He now sits third in the King of the Mountains standings.
The boys in France have a rest day on Tuesday. Normally, Monday would have been their day off but it was Bastille Day. Racing resumes with a punchy, but short race in Toulouse.
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Canadian Cycling Magazine…