Mads Pedersen seals Tour green jersey with Alpine raid the day before Paris
A pugnacious display on the Col de la Croix de Fer saw Mads Pedersen collect the maximum points at the intermediate sprint on stage 20 of the Tour de France, meaning the Dane has all but sealed victory in the points classification with a day to spare.
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Mads Pedersen is almost mathematically assured of victory in the points classification of the Tour de France after scoring a full complement of points at the intermediate sprint for a third consecutive day in the Alps.
The Dane is now on 527 points, leaving him some 82 points clear of Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) ahead of the final stage in Paris, where there is a maximum of 75 points on offer.
There are is also a maximum of 20 points on offer at the finish of stage 20 to Alpe d'Huez, where neither Pedersen nor Philipsen are likely to score any points.
Pedersen’s lead was slashed to just seven points after Philipsen’s win in Voiron on Wednesday, but the Lidl-Trek rider responded with three days of aggressive racing in the Alps.
His most impressive feat came on stage 20 on Saturday, which began with the ascent of the hors categorie Col de la Croix de Fer. Pedersen was briefly distanced at the foot of the climb before recovering and then attacking to set off in chase of the day’s early break.
Pedersen crested the summit 1:30 down on lone leader Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) and 30 seconds behind the chasing group. He caught the chasers on the descent and Carapaz and Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal Quick-Step) were absorbed soon afterwards.
The intermediate sprint at Saint-Julien-Mont-Denis after 66km would prove a formality for Pedersen, who duly collected the full quota of 25 points, thus removing any suspense from Sunday’s Paris finale.
If Pedersen finishes the Tour, he will become the sixth rider in history to complete a full set of points classification victories at the Grand Tours. He won the point classification at the Vuelta a España in 2022 and 2025 and at the Giro d’Italia in 2025.
Pedersen will become the second Lidl-Trek rider in succession to win the green jersey at the Tour after Jonathan Milan claimed the title last year. Milan was omitted from Lidl-Trek’s Tour team this year in favour of Pedersen, who sat out the race in 2025.
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