Pedersen can’t really say it (“f*ck it man!”), but does anyway after Lidl-Trek’s brutal work: "I can’t wait"

Pedersen had briefly lost the pink jersey after the time trial on day 2, but thanks to an incredible effort by his team, he managed to reclaim it. After the finish, the spotlight was firmly on his team’s performance. “The team was absolutely amazing today. We made a plan on the bus this morning and everyone was super committed to it. We looked at the cols and knew it was going to be a tough mission, and that it would definitely be on the limit for me.”

But the plan from Lidl-Trek and Pedersen worked: several sprinters had to let go of the peloton, but Pedersen managed to hang on. “This was our plan this morning: to ride a steady tempo on the long climb, to control the race and allow me to catch my breath. The whole team did an incredible job, both on the climb and leading up to it,” said the new race leader in his flash interview.

Pedersen managed to survive the long climb, but it wasn’t easy. “But then you see all my teammates so committed to the plan, then I have to give everything for what they’re working for. I can't really say this, but f*ck it, man! They are so amazing. We’ve got another win and the pink jersey back, that’s just amazing.”

After the long climb, Lidl-Trek never really came under threat. The team controlled the race and saw Pedersen sprint to another victory. “In the four or five kilometers, everyone wanted to be at the front and stay out of trouble. It was good that Bahrain Victorious was up front and Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe stayed on the left, so we could go a bit to the right. A few dogs coming over the road once in a while, so it was an exciting finale,” Pedersen laughed.

But the stage winner mainly wanted to talk about his teammates. “What Ciccone is doing is truly amazing. It shows how much commitment he has to the team. Vacek is doing an amazing lead-out, he managed that well. We help each other everywhere, even when it’s outside your own specialty. I can’t wait for the mountains, to return the favor to Cicco."

Even Pedersen himself wasn’t afraid to do the dirty work in stage 3, at one point even jumping into the breakaway during the early phase of the race. “At a certain point, I saw a big group pulling away. It was easy to ride up to them. And besides, I have to help my teammates too. It didn’t cost me any energy to do it.”