'The fight will go all the way to Paris' - Pedersen's green jersey lead slashed to seven points

Mads Pedersen was awarded the prize for the day’s most combative rider after his pugnacious display on the road to Voiron on stage 17 of the Tour de France, but it was scant consolation after his lead in the points classification was slashed to just seven points.

“That award, I can’t use for a lot. I lost points to my biggest rival, so this is an award I don’t need,” a disappointed Pedersen told France Télévisions. 

Pedersen showcased his strength by bridging up to the day’s sizeable break and then attacking in a small group to win the intermediate sprint in Colombe in the finale. But that splinter move was pinned back in the finale, and Pedersen had to settle for a disappointed eighth in the 30-strong sprint for stage victory.

His green jersey rival Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) won the stage, and the Belgian is now just seven points behind Pedersen in the standings with four stages remaining. 

“This was a proper shit day. I’d say it like this. It was an expensive day in the points, so I’m super disappointed,” said Pedersen, who brushed off compliments for his aggression on another arduous day at the Tour.

“It doesn’t work to be impressive and then not get the job done, so in the end, it’s a bad day and it’s a big loss of points and that’s not what we hoped. But it is what it is, and we have to deal with this situation and hope to score for points in the next days.”

Pedersen is aiming to become the sixth rider in history to win the points classification at all three Grand Tours. He won the maglia ciclamino on last year’s Giro d’Italia, and he won the points classification at the Vuelta a España in both 2022 and 2025.

Lidl-Trek won the green jersey a year ago through Jonathan Milan, but they left the Italian on the sidelines this July in favour of building a team around the ambitions of Pedersen and GC hopeful Juan Ayuso. 

“I lost too many points today. We had hoped that we could do it the other way around and almost close the jersey, but we couldn’t,” Pedersen told TV2. “Now it’s really open, and it’s a bit of a mess, but that’s how it is. We’ll keep fighting.”

Pedersen claimed victory in Foix on stage 4 of the Tour, but that was his only top five finish so far, with the Dane amassing his points lead through his remarkable consistency in intermediate sprints. 

The Alpine terrain over the next three days will make it difficult for Pedersen to score in intermediate sprints, and he conceded that the race for the green jersey would come down to the Champs-Élysées on Sunday.

“This fight is going to go all the way to Paris,” Pedersen said. “I’m pretty sure it will be on the Champs-Élysées.”