'It's going to be very exciting' – Lidl-Trek play down talk of tension between GC leader Mattias Skjelmose and new signing Juan Ayuso

Lidl-Trek directeur sportif Kim Andersen has played down reports of tension between the team's GC leader Mattias Skjelmose and new star signing Juan Ayuso after the Dane had expressed surprise at the addition of the Spaniard from UAE Team Emirates-XRG.

Skjelmose has developed into a stage racer leader for the team in the five years he's spent there, but expressed doubts about the situation in an interview with TV2 last month.

The 25-year-old said, "It was a bit of a strange situation. I found out about it quite early on, without the team telling me.

"They've been telling me for a couple of years now that they want to build a team around me. But I don't think they've brought him in as a support rider. Now we'll see what happens.

"If he has a little difficulty helping Tadej [Pogačar], then I don't know if he wants to help me in any way if it comes down to it. But it could also be that he just hasn't had a good time at UAE. I don't really know him, so of course I don't know what happened on that team. I hope we can help each other."

Ayuso responded in an interview with Feltet, saying that it's natural for the top teams of the peloton to have more than one leader for Grand Tours.

It will be a case of "wait and see" whether the pair would get on, though, he added.

"I can understand some parts of it. If the team has said: 'You are the leader' I can understand some frustration," Ayuso said.

"It is normal if you want to be a super team that you keep writing with good riders. UAE, Visma, and now Red Bull have a lot of riders who are racing for the general classification. You can't be a super team and only have one leader.

"I can't say much because I don't know him personally. I'll have to wait and see what he's like because I only know him from the races."

Now Andersen has sought to quell any disagreements between two of his star riders.

The veteran DS told Feltet that the opinions of the riders were lost in translation, which "turned it into a mess." He said that the pair would have to adjust to riding together, adding that Ayuso's addition to the team would only be exciting for Lidl-Trek.

"He has been received very, very well," Andersen said of Ayuso's arrival at the team.

"It was put together in such a way that something was picked from one place and something from another, and some of it was poorly translated into English, and then it became a mess that ended up with something that wasn't very smart. But we've started a new one, and that's very positive.

"None of them knew each other. They've been competitors until now, but that's how professional sport is. You're competitors until you're teammates. And it's about being able to adapt. It's going to be very exciting."

It remains to be seen which races the pair of GC contenders will be targeting next season, with both likely eyeing a leadership role at the Tour de France.

The team will also have to work out another potential clash of ambitions within the squad, with both Mads Pedersen and Jonathan Milan aiming to take on the Tour de France next summer.

In 2025, Pedersen won the points classification and five stages across the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España, while Milan took two stage wins and the points classification at the Tour.

As with Skjelmose and Ayuso, the team hasn't yet worked out the 2026 goals of Pedersen and Milan, Andersen told Feltet.

"Of course he wants to return to the Tour," Andersen said. "It's no secret that the green jersey is also a goal for Mads. But he also has a few more years behind him than Milan. But they can't ride together if Mads is also going to ride for the green jersey.

"On the flat stages, he will be the world's best lead-out for Johnny, but then he can't ride for points like he usually can, even though the stages are not 100 per cent his. At the moment, it's not working.

"[The route] looks good. He can get a fantastic start, if that is the case. We've shown a few times now that we do well in team races. And then there is a tough second stage, which could suit him very well.

"There are also four pure sprint stages, and then there are two stages that could be a sprint or a breakaway. But I don't see the last stage as a sprint stage. We saw that this year, it will be too divided."