He may be wearing the green jersey, but Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) is still winless in this Vuelta a España, starkly different from the start of his last Grand Tour, when he won three stages in the first five days of the Giro d’Italia.
The Dane came to the Vuelta to try and repeat his Giro feat – win stages and take home the green jersey – and whilst the points classification goal is going well, the best stage result he’s taken so far is second on stage 3.
The latest disappointment came on stage 8, when he finished 11th – eventually upgraded to ninth after two relegations – marking another day of not the result he wants in this race.
“The final sprint just wasn’t good enough,” he told the TV cameras after the stage. “Not even finishing in the top 10 isn’t what we came here for. It is what it is.”
His campaign for the green jersey has been going well, consistently winning points – including on the way to Zaragoza on stage 8 – and whilst winning that classification and completing a triple for Lidl-Trek in 2025 is certainly a goal, he says winning a stage is more important.
“We can’t change the results now. All we can do is look ahead and keep trying to win a stage. I want to win stages,” he said. “Picking up points in the intermediate sprints is something we have to do, but winning is the most important thing. That’s what it’s all about.”
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