'Madrid is still a long way off' - Pedersen's wait for Vuelta stage win continues
The Dane moved into the green jersey after top 10 stage result on stage 4 of the Vuelta a España, but he would have been hoping for more. Still, the Lidl-Trek rider remains optimistic for the future stages
After a lightning opening week at the Giro d’Italia in May, things haven’t quite gone the same way for Mads Pedersen so far at this Vuelta a España. The Dane has naturally been considered one of the pre-stage favourites on multiple occasions so far, but his best result came on Monday on stage 3, where he finished second behind David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ).
Stage 4 on Tuesday looked to be another route that suited Pedersen, but the Lidl-Trek rider could only manage sixth in Voiron behind stage winner Ben Turner (Ineos).
There was a consolation prize for Pedersen in the form of the green jersey, as the former world champion is the new leader of the points classification on a tally of 78, just ahead of Ethan Vernon.
"I don't know why I'm laughing now, but it's nice to be leading the points classification. But Madrid is still a long way off. We're far from the green jersey, but we are one step closer to our goal,” Pedersen told Eurosport.
Success isn’t always straightforward, but Pedersen knew as much coming in. He can draw on the experience of his only previous appearance in 2022, where he claimed three stage wins, but it took a while for the first to arrive.
“This is another missed opportunity, but it is what it is. The last time I rode the Vuelta, it also took us thirteen days to win. That just goes to show: nothing is impossible,” said Pedersen.
Pedersen acknowledged the room for improvement in his Lidl-Trek lead-out after plenty of solid work from his teammates so far throughout the earlier portion of the stages. He will hope to rack up his 60th professional victory and 11th Grand Tour stage win after the race reaches Spain for Wednesday's team time trial.
"We need to sit down and determine how we're going to approach the upcoming stages. It's important to learn from our mistakes. The finale was very chaotic, and it's not always easy to set up a good lead-out," said Pedersen
"We'll keep trying. It's the first time we've really raced together like this, so it's also important to lay a foundation for the coming years in this Vuelta."
