'The diesel engine is gradually rising': Pedersen eyes Vuelta win as Van Aert calls Brennan Visma's 'best bet'

Pedersen has offered an encouraging assessment of his form ahead of stage 8 of the Vuelta a España, saying there was more power in his legs during Friday's stage and that he believes victory is possible in Xeraco.

The Lidl-Trek leader spent part of stage 7 in the breakaway before eventually finishing behind the general classification contenders on the summit finish at Aramón Valdelinares.

For Pedersen, however, the day provided another indication that his condition is improving.

"The feeling was better yesterday, and there was more power in my pedal stroke, so the limit on the 'diesel engine' is gradually rising," Pedersen told TV 2 Sport with a smile before the start of stage 8.

The 171 kilometre stage from Puçol to Xeraco contains only one classified climb, the second category Puerto de Barx, which measures 4.7 kilometres at 5.6%. Its summit comes 27.4 kilometres from the finish, leaving enough time for riders who lose contact to potentially return before the expected sprint.

Pedersen was among the sprinters dropped when the race tackled a tougher finale earlier in the week, but he is hopeful of being involved this time.

"Hopefully, we can be in the mix for the victory in the sprint," he said. "We know it's a tough sprint. A two kilometre straight isn't exactly ideal for me, but we have to give it a shot and see if we can pull off a top result."

Despite the opportunity to put faster rivals under pressure on the Puerto de Barx, Pedersen does not expect Lidl-Trek to take responsibility for making the climb difficult.

"No, I don't think so," he said when asked whether his team would apply pressure.

"I think there are others who are strong enough favourites to do that. Besides, we don't have the team to keep the pace high afterwards, so we won't waste energy on it. We'll leave that to the others and hope they do it."

One of the teams with the numbers to control the finale is Visma | Lease a Bike, although Wout van Aert does not anticipate a major selection on the climb either.

The Belgian expects a large group to arrive together in Xeraco and has again identified Matthew Brennan as Visma's main option for the finish.

"Honestly, I don't expect a major selection to take place on that climb," Van Aert told HLN. "There are wide roads afterwards too, so given his current form, I don't expect Matthew to run into any trouble."

Brennan has already won two stages during his Grand Tour debut and has repeatedly demonstrated his ability to survive difficult terrain before producing a sprint.

For Van Aert, that makes the 21-year-old the obvious rider to support once again.

"He's also our best bet if it comes down to a sprint," Van Aert said.

The plan is likely to resemble the formula that has already worked for Visma during this Vuelta, with Van Aert helping position the team before Christophe Laporte takes over for the final part of Brennan's leadout.

"Never change a winning team," Van Aert said with a wink.

Speaking separately to TV 2 Sport, Van Aert also indicated that he could have his own objective earlier in the stage, with points available at the intermediate sprint in Simat de la Valldigna.

"We'll see if there are points available in the intermediate sprint. If so, that's a goal for me, and then we can set Matthew Brennan up in a good position."