Extremely disappointed Pedersen apologized to teammate Ciccone: "But he shouldn't do that"

Pedersen was too disappointed to speak after the finish, but teammate and lead-out man Giulio Ciccone, who had finished second himself the day before, did talk to Eurosport. “We rode an amazing race as a team, no doubt about it.”

“Our goal was to win the stage with Mads, and I think we did everything we could,” said Giulio Ciccone after a tough finish in Ceres. “It wasn’t an easy finale. I started my lead-out early to launch Mads, but that’s how it goes, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.”

The team has now narrowly missed out two days in a row, but Ciccone remains optimistic: “The Vuelta is long, and we’re in great shape. There are still a lot of chances to come.”

At the finish, Pedersen apologized to Ciccone, but the Italian was quick to brush it off. “He doesn’t need to say sorry. That’s cycling. Mads is a champion, and we’re here to support him. We just need to take the next opportunities when they come.”