Lidl-Trek capped off a perfect week in Denmark with Mads Pedersen winning the final stage in Silkeborg, securing both his third stage win and the overall victory. The Danish champion was joined on the podium by teammate Jakob Söderqvist, who rose from fourth to second in the general classification after a bold late attack with Pedersen and Søren Kragh Andersen.
The decisive move came on the final circuits in Silkeborg when the trio broke clear with a few others, forcing a race-winning split. Pedersen powered to victory on the line, while Söderqvist crossed in third. The young Swede gained both time bonuses and a gap over the peloton, catapulting himself up to second overall. Having already won the Stage 3 time trial, he also secured the best young rider’s jersey.
Lidl-Trek’s successful week was further underlined as the Team claimed the Lidl-sponsored best team competition, the perfect way to recognize a week-long complete team performance as each rider was celebrated on stage.
“I will still blame Skjelly [Mattias Skjelmose] for this one,” said Mads Pedersen at the finish. “He went really fast into the climb and, even if he says it wasn’t him, he made the split and then after that we kind of had to keep it going. Kim was on the radio saying ‘ok boys, now you’re into it, so now it’s up to you to finish it as well’. But with Jakob and Søren there also, this was an ideal situation for us and, yeah, this pure racing was really nice.”
Reflecting on the week, Pedersen added: “It was pretty hard, but with the result, it was nice for sure. And it’s super nice to get Jakob up on the podium as well. Maybe Søren also gets onto the podium or he’s really close. That would have been nice to be one, two and three, but let’s say it like this: now Jakob steps up into the big scene where he belongs and, yeah, what a race this Tour of Denmark has been for us.”
The Danish crowds once again turned out in huge numbers for the finale, something that was not lost on Pedersen. “We can see cycling is growing in Denmark and it’s so nice to see all these people and this atmosphere. Not only today, but in general the whole week. Thanks to everyone in Denmark who came out on the roads to cheer on us.”
“It’s a dream,” said second-placed Jakob Söderqvist. “I think expectations could never be higher and we didn’t spend too much time painting them on the wall before the stage, we just said ‘whatever happens, happens’ and maybe we can make something good out of it. It wasn’t a clear plan, it was just being ready to improvise, and I don’t think it could have gone any better. It was just dream racing in the last half an hour. It was the perfect way to do it and I enjoyed it so much. This is something I will take a step back from now in the coming days and just enjoy. I think I am on a good path and I’m just trying to enjoy the journey I am on now and not stress too much about it.”
