Pedersen realizes Vingegaard and Almeida won’t give him any rest: "Almost every day in the mix"

Pedersen added some much-needed points on Friday in the stage to Angliru, bringing his score to 192. The Dane now has a 70-point lead over the new number two, Jonas Vingegaard. His compatriot from Visma | Lease a Bike, of course, is not a sprinter, nor is he someone who goes for the intermediate sprints, but he is still there.

This is partly due to the Vuelta's route, which features an uphill finish almost every day. On the other hand, there are a few days in this Vuelta when sprinters can earn the full 50 points for a bunch sprint. Moreover, Pedersen failed to seize the opportunities that arose in the first week.

And so the pace setter had to get to work in week 2. Pedersen was there on days 11, 12, and 13, and each time he took the full haul in the intermediate sprint. His legs are working as hoped, and so the Lidl-Trek leader is getting over the difficult climbs almost every day. “I would not call [winning the intermediate sprint] a victory, it’s just nice to add up some points,” he said honestly.

Because Pedersen is a winner, so in Madrid, only winning the green jersey counts, and preferably a stage as well. “I think it’s pretty clear that I’m racing to win a stage but also the green jersey and for this I have to get in the mix almost every day. Jonas [Vingegaard] has a high chance of winning the jersey, and Joao [Almeida] as well, so I have to catch some points somewhere.”

So far, so good, Pedersen noted in conversation with the organization. “Now it’s a bigger gap than four days ago, so it’s definitely more comfortable. L’Angliru is a long climb and I’m happy I don’t have to race for victory on a climb like this. We can take it easy and just finish. It was a lot of people, so that’s nice.”