Ask anyone at the start of today’s stage from Rovigo to Vicenza, is it for the sprinters or climbers? No one knew… well, except for one man. Mads Pedersen absolutely smashed the final climb to the line, taking his fourth victory of this year’s race and adding another 50 points to his Maglia Ciclamino tally. Mathias Vacek played a pivotal role in the team’s strategy during the final climb to Monte Berico. As the peloton approached the steep ascent, Vacek took a flyer from the lead group, only to be caught inside the final 600 metres. Mads opened his sprint early and never looked back, che classe!
Mads’ reaction:
“I had to open on the right side close to the barrier, so I went a bit earlier than I really wanted to, but on such a hard day, a final like this, sometimes it’s okay to go early, because everyone has burning legs in the last metres, so, yeah, and then, of course, it’s nice to see it once, then you know what you’re going to and how the peloton is moving around in the last corners. So it was definitely nice to, to have seen it before. Vacek attacking, he was trying to win the stage. You know, he deserved it so much also. And if it would have been a little bit more hesitation in the peloton, they would have had 25, 30 seconds, and then I’m pretty sure they would have made it to the finish line. So this was an ideal, you know, he got the chance of winning the stage and then we could sit behind and let all the teams keep a really high speed. So, yeah, ideal the situation for us. I’m just happy with this one and adding another 50 points to the Ciclamino jersey, so let’s see how it goes. It’s still far to Rome, but now I’m just overwhelmed about winning again”.
Stage 13 results
1.Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) 3:50:24
2.Wout Van Aert (Visma-Lease A Bike) s.t
3.Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +2”
