Skjelmose ruled out of Paris-Nice: Wrist injury derails Dane's first outing with Ayuso

Paris-Nice was expected to be Mattias Skjelmose's first race alongside new teammate Juan Ayuso following the Spaniard’s transfer from UAE Team Emirates-XRG last winter. Although Lidl-Trek haven’t officially announced their line-up for the race, the team has confirmed that the Dane won’t be involved.

Ayuso has made a strong start to life at Lidl-Trek, winning a stage and the GC at the Volta ao Algarve, and he is one of the favourites for the yellow jersey at Paris-Nice alongside Skjelmose’s compatriot Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike).

The 25-year-old Danish rider Skjelmose started his season with a 5th-place finish at the Faun-Ardèche Classic before finishing 26th at the Faun Drome Classic, building form nicely ahead of what would have been a strong dynamic at Paris-Nice for Lidl-Trek.

The Amstel Gold Race-winning Dane has both good and bad memories of Paris-Nice previously. Skjelmose outsprinted the American duo Jorgenson and Brandon McNulty in an uphill finish to win stage 6 in 2024.

However, the Dane suffered a heavy crash in last year's edition on the penultimate lap after colliding with a traffic divider.

Skjelmose isn’t the only rider potential GC contender, who will not take to the start after originally being pencilled to ride. It was announced on Friday that João Almeida was not a part of the UAE Team Emirates-XRG line-up for the Race to the Sun, which kicks off on Sunday, 8 March.