Pogačar's crash had unpleasant consequences for Pedersen, who warns of 'diesel' in the remainder of the Vuelta

It took Mads Pedersen a week, but he says he’s slowly finding his rhythm in the Vuelta a España. The Danish rider from Lidl-Trek complained during the first week about a lack of power and the feeling that he still needed a little time to get going. With a second-place finish in Stage 8, he proved he’s made further progress.

The first week of the Vuelta had some great opportunities in store for Pedersen, but he didn’t really capitalize on any of them. He wasn’t at his best in the opening time trial; a day later, he finished fourth in a finish that was perfect for him; and in Stage 5, he even finished a good 10 minutes behind the rider who ultimately won the stage in a sprint.

After a day in the breakaway (read: chase) on Day 7, Pedersen came closer than ever to a Vuelta stage victory in the eighth stage. Only Bryan Coquard of Cofidis was faster, but both before and after the sprint stage, Pedersen sounded particularly upbeat. “Because the halfway climb was neutralized after Pogacar’s crash, everyone was still fresh going into the final stretch.”

For Pedersen, a bit more pace on the day’s only climb might have made a difference, but he understood the peloton’s decision to ease off for a moment. “It’s never pleasant when one of the top favorites for the general classification has to drop out of the race. But because of that, many riders had fresher legs than they would have had if we’d been able to push the pace.”

It turned out that Coquard was “a better rider” than Pedersen, who, despite this, isn’t giving up. He can feel in his legs that the next two weeks in the Tour of Spain could turn out to be quite exciting. “There’s more power in my pedal stroke; it feels better. My diesel engine is revving up,” smiled the winner of the green jersey in the Tour de France.