“There were loads of people out on the laps — it gave us that extra push,” he said. “Thanks to Bornholm and to everyone who helped get us here. To top it off with a win, that’s just brilliant.”
Pedersen and teammate Mattias Skjelmose forced the day’s decisive selection with a well-timed counterattack inside the final 40km, bridging across to what remained of the early break. From there, it was clear Lidl-Trek had come to race, not sit back. “You saw the tactic,” Pedersen said. “We wanted a proper race — to split things up so we didn’t end up in a bunch sprint. If we’d dragged Jasper Philipsen to the line, I’d most likely have lost. That wasn’t an option for us.”
The final kilometres saw Julius Johansen try to break the group apart with a solo attack, but Skjelmose covered it smartly, allowing Pedersen to save his legs for the sprint. “Everyone in the group was motivated — we all wanted to gain time on the GC guys,” Pedersen explained. “There was strong cooperation until that move from Julius at the roundabout. After that, it started to splinter, but it played into our hands.”
Skjelmose’s final lead-out effort proved decisive, and Pedersen launched his sprint with typical force to take both the stage win and the first leader’s jersey of the race. Beyond the personal result, Pedersen was encouraged by the broader picture for Lidl-Trek. “We’ve got two guys in the top 10 now, and Niklas [Larsen] was up there as well,” he said. “It’s looking really solid for us. Today was ideal.”
Confident, composed, and clearly racing with a plan, Pedersen now heads into stage 2 with the leader’s jersey on his shoulders — and no intention of letting it go easily.