Pedersen: “This victory was a team masterpiece”

The danish Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) considered “a masterpiece of the team” their victory in the fourth stage of the Tour de Francewhich also meant he moved to the front of the classification for the green jersey by points.

“Without a doubt, this victory has been a masterpiece for my team. I suffered a lot on the last climb. Quinn (Simmons) and Mathias (Vacek) were incredible when it came to setting the pace for me so that we didn’t lose too much time before the top, and then they worked like machines from there to the finish line. What a great effort and what a great team victory today!” said an excited Pedersen.

A victory that for Pededersen is the third on the Tour, and special because he had promised it to the Lidl-Trek manager. “I had a good chat with our manager, Luca Guercilena, before the stage. He asked me to win a stage for him, preferably at the beginning of the Tour, and we knew this could be a good day for me. This victory is for Luca and for all the good years we have spent together. “I am very grateful for everything he has done for me,” he explained.

Asked about him heat, The Nordic cyclist did not want to give too much importance to a circumstance that “is for everyone.” “The heat? You just have to live with it and do your best to stay cool.. Luckily, the support cars are closer to us and that makes things easier on days like today. There are also many people from our team on the side of the road waiting to give us cans and bags of ice to help us beat the heat. In this sense, it also helps to have a good team,” he explained.

Pedersen is the new green jersey of the Tour, a goal he hopes to enjoy on July 26 in Paris. “I got the green jersey and that’s great. It would have been nice to also win the intermediate sprint, but at least I got 50 points at the finish line. It has been a good day in that aspect too,” he concluded.