‘They were asleep’ - Riis blasts Lidl-Trek after costly Mads Pedersen Tour de France chase

Mads Pedersen managed to limit the damage in the Tour de France green jersey competition on Friday, but only after a draining rescue mission that Bjarne Riis believes should never have been necessary.

Lidl-Trek were caught on the wrong side of the split when a large group escaped during stage 13 to Belfort. At first, Pedersen and his teammates believed none of his main rivals for the points classification had made the move.

That assessment quickly changed when the Dane learned that Jasper Philipsen was among the attackers.

“It was not ideal,” Pedersen admitted after the stage in the flash interview. “First we saw a big group and thought, ‘There seems to be no sprinter, so all good, all the points are gone.’

“Then I was told a bit late on the radio that Philipsen was in it. Honestly, the hard work really started from there.”

Lidl-Trek committed several riders to the chase, but the situation became even more costly when another group attacked as the team eased its effort. Pedersen was forced to follow and found himself without a teammate as he tried to bridge across.

“It was full gas for an hour and a half to try to make it back,” he said. “First we were pulling in the peloton and when we basically stopped, the group went.

“From there it was all out until we made it to the front. It was a really tough day and, all in all, I would say it was a good day of damage control again, sadly.”

Pedersen eventually reached the front group and kept his losses to Philipsen to five points. The result protected his position in the green jersey battle, but the energy required to repair the mistake could prove significant as the Tour enters another difficult block of stages.

Former Tour winner Bjarne Riis was highly critical of Lidl-Trek’s handling of the opening phase.

“For him to be sitting there alone is catastrophic,” Riis said on the Riis i Feltet podcast. “That simply cannot happen. They were asleep.”

Riis argued that the team’s failure to place a rider in the original move left Pedersen facing a long and unnecessary chase.

“They had to use a lot of frustrating energy, especially Mads,” he said. “He was alone in that group of around 20 riders trying to get across. He used a huge amount of energy there.”

The tactical complications did not end once Pedersen had restored his position.

Tom Pidcock was also in the breakaway and began to threaten several riders near the top of the general classification. His presence encouraged Lidl-Trek and other teams with overall ambitions to contribute to the pursuit.

Pidcock eventually gained enough time to move into fourth place overall, passing Lidl-Trek leader Juan Ayuso.

Ayuso conceded that allowing a rider of Pidcock’s quality to gain several minutes was always going to provoke a response from the teams behind.

“He is a super good rider,” Ayuso said in the flash interview. “That is why I think not only us, but other teams helped with the chase. You do not want Tom gaining time.”

The Spaniard was not alarmed by losing his position, however, pointing out that the difference between them remains small.

“In the end he passed me in the general classification, but not by a big margin,” he said. “I would have preferred not to have him so close, but I think it will be all right.”

Riis was less convinced by Lidl-Trek’s decision to continue working later in the stage. He described the situation as “grotesque” and suggested the team could have shown more patience rather than taking further responsibility for controlling Pidcock’s advantage.

Yet the pressure created by Pidcock illustrates why the stage became so complicated. Lidl-Trek were simultaneously trying to protect Pedersen’s green jersey campaign and Ayuso’s position in the overall standings, leaving the team exposed on two fronts.

Ayuso was instead looking ahead to the mountains after a stage raced at close to 50 kilometres per hour.

“Riders like me suffer on the flat when we go so fast for such long periods,” he said. “I am happy the climbs are coming. Finally, it is the small chainring.”

For Pedersen, the damage was limited. The cost of repairing Lidl-Trek’s early mistake was considerably greater.