Mads Pedersen shows he's no ordinary rider with incredible mission in grueling Vuelta a España mountain stage
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Follow us on GoogleMads Pedersen missed out on the stage win on day 3 of the Vuelta a España, and when he wanted revenge a day later, the lead-out went wrong. Lidl-Trek then came up short in the team time trial, followed by two mountain stages on Thursday and Friday. Every other rider would have used the two stages to reflect, but not Mads Pedersen. The 29-year-old Dane proved once again that he is no ordinary rider by staying with the pack all day in stage 7.
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Pedersen was in a group of thirteen, which included some particularly strong climbers. This was not surprising, as the eventual stage winner, Juan Ayuso, had already pulled away on the first climb, and the other contenders had to give it their all to catch up. Pedersen joined them. Or rather, he had to join them. He had to dig deep to achieve what he had set out to do at the start of the stage: stay with the group and sprint at the intermediate sprint.
The problem was that the intermediate sprint was after the Coll de L'Espina, after 174 kilometers of racing. So, Pedersen had to climb one first-category climb and two second-category climbs. Miraculously, he succeeded, earning 20 points at the intermediate sprint. This took him from 78 to 98 points in the points classification and increased his lead over second-placed Ethan Vernon (Israel-Premier Tech) to 22 points.
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Mads Pedersen had only one goal in tough mountain stage
“On the first climb, I was suffering in the first group, try to hang on with the peloton,” said Pedersen afterwards, firmly in his green jersey, in the mixed zone. “I knew I had to hang on until the last 2 to 3 kilometres, because then it would be flatter, and that was my only chance to go in the beak if I was still there. I saw the moment and it was the good way.”
What followed was up and down, on climbs that averaged between 5 and 6 percent. Pedersen was able to handle that before winning the intermediate sprint. "The intermediate sprint was the only thing on my mind. With a finish like today’s, I only had one goal, to get the points at the bottom of the climb. And then, when the peloton pass me, to see if I could help Cicco in any way, but he didn’t need anything so I could sit up and take it easy to the finish."
Bram van der PloegEditor-in-chief
Bram van der Ploeg (35) is the proud founder of In de Leiderstrui, IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, launched in 2018. Finally, he could create stories about the sport he had followed since childhood. He is the editor-in-chief on paper, but prefers to be with his recorder next to a rider, a team bus, or in the mud at a cyclocross race. Every year, from February to the end of May, Bram follows the entire Italian cycling season, from the Trofeo Laigueglia to the Giro d'Italia, with the grand finale in October in Lombardy. During that time, he lives in Tuscany, where he has since come to call Italy his 'home'.
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