Touching, almost apologetic words from Pedersen as formidable Vacek misses out on his slice of the Lidl-Trek success

Vacek owes his good form to a productive training block after the classics. He got off to an excellent start with third place in the Figueira Champions Classic and sixteenth place in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, but he crashed in Strade Bianche. That crash affected him for the rest of the Flemish spring, and after finishing 116th in Paris-Roubaix (with another crash), we didn't see him again.

Behind the scenes, Vacek worked on his form, which he had already demonstrated in the Algarve this year, where he wore the leader's jersey for several days and (despite a crash) finished twelfth overall. He also got off to a flying start in the Giro d'Italia, first with some hard work for Mads Pedersen on day 1 and then with a fifth place in the time trial on day 2. This earned him the white youth jersey, which he only lost on day 7. Because Vacek also pushed hard on the climbs.

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With his form, Vacek was one of the top favorites for stage victory in stage 9 over the white roads of Tuscany. Things turned out differently. "I had marked the stage to Siena and wanted to do well there. But you need luck; unfortunately, a crash split the group. When I jumped from the second to the first group, I didn't have the legs to compete for the win," he said on day 11 to IDLProCycling.com.

It affected Vacek, who slowed towards Siena when he realized victory was no longer possible. In the final phase, he pushed hard for lead rider Giulio Ciccone, who finished third in the day's stage. "The team is extremely pleased, so I cannot be disappointed with such a good Giro. We're riding a good race as a team. But if I can win a stage, the Giro would be perfect. That's what we're going for," said the super talent, sounding extremely ambitious.

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However, Vacek had a problem at the start of the second week to stay with the breakaway: he was too close to the pink jersey. "I'm praying for more luck, but maybe I should have lost a little more time in the previous stages so that I could have stayed with the breakaway more easily," he said. For that reason, he took it easy in the second part of the time trial on day 10, but after that day, he was still seventeenth in the GC, 3.43 minutes behind the leader.

In the days that followed, Vacek lost more time, hoping to strike in the final weekend of the second week or the third week. "I'm just doing my best, as always. My chance will come in this Giro; I'll have to pick a few stages. The metrics are good, and I'm climbing well, although I won't get over the Mortirolo with the best climbers. If the climbs aren't too steep or long, I can push myself and keep up. That's what I need to do to win a stage."

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No one will deny Vacek a win. Everyone at Lidl-Trek wants him to take the stage, but with Pedersen (points classification) and Giulio Ciccone (GC), there are other priorities. Nevertheless, it said a lot that Daan Hoole immediately thought of Vacek after winning the time trial on day 10. "This Giro is bizarre, with an incredible team. I would still like to contribute to a victory for Mathias because he deserves it."

Hoole also said: "For me, he is one of the strongest riders in this Giro. What he's doing is absurd, even though things haven't gone his way yet. That first mountain finish (day 7, ed.), he could keep up with the best climbers for a long time... Mathias weighs at least 10 to 15 kilos more than those guys, so that's phenomenal. Mathias could become an absolute leader, and if he improves his race tactics a little, he could achieve some great victories."

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Confronted with Hoole's words, Vacek started smiling last Wednesday. "Haha, that's nice to hear. The guys would love me to win a stage, too, but that's not easy. I haven't had much luck yet, but I'm in good shape, my legs are good, and I feel good." But even on day 13, things didn't go his way, despite a late attack with Romain Bardet. "We were caught 600 meters from the finish. Mads was in a perfect position. He did it again, really amazing."

Vacek called Pedersen 'a monster' after his fourth Giro victory, but when asked by this website, the Dane himself almost felt guilty that it wasn't Vacek on Friday. After three stage wins in this Tour of Italy, Pedersen had already said he wanted to repay Vacek, but that hasn't happened yet. "Today, I would have given this victory to Vacek if it had been possible. With all the work he does, that guy gives everything to win a stage in a Grand Tour."

"He was so good to me in the classics, and now he is here," Pedersen continued his beautiful words to his teammate. "It's crazy that so many teammates travel around the world 200 days a year and train hard to help me win. Mathias deserves to win, too, and he can do so in a Grand Tour. I would have loved to see him ride to the finish today, that's for sure."

Bram van der Ploeg (Twitter: @BvdPloegg | email: [email protected])