Skjelmose was supposed to ride the Critérium du Dauphiné but decided to withdraw from the French race and then the Tour de Suisse after a stomach infection hit him after an altitude training camp.
Skjelmose had not been in action since Liége-Bastogne-Liége but showed he is in form by winning on the climb to the finish on the Coll de la Botella.
The Dane was kept out of trouble all day by his Lidl-Trek teammates, knowing that the final ascent of Coll de la Botella would be the decisive section.
Skjelmose approached the summit as part of a group of five climbers. With 200 meters to the line, Skjelmose made a strong acceleration to take the inside track and continued to power his way past Cristián Rodríguez (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) and Mas in a climbers' sprint to the line.
Esteban Chaves (EF Education-EasyPost) was fourth, and Australian climber Sebastian Berwick (Caja Rural -Seguros RGA) was fifth.
“Of course I’m happy. I was sick for a long time and lost both the Dauphiné and Suisse,” explained Skjelmose. “Luckily, I could do this race, and I think the shape is there for the Tour de France."
“This was super good, we had to see how this race was going, but the Tour is a completely different race, so we will have to see, but after today I’m more confident, I think we can do a good Tour. I’m looking forward to it."