‘It didn’t matter who it was, we were here to win’ – Mads Pedersen and Lidl-Trek absorb all the pressure at Vuelta a España to finally capture stage victory

Even an hour after crossing the line and feeling the euphoria of victory on a Grand Tour stage, Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) was still fired up, saying it “didn’t matter who it was” up the road on stage 15 of the Vuelta a España, today was going to be his.

For a sport where 150 riders line up at the start and 50 of them get a chance to fight for the win out of a breakaway, as was the case on Sunday’s stage to Monforte de Lemos, on occasion, there are days when a superstar rider is simply too strong for the rest, and former World Champion Pedersen is certainly one of them.