Mads Pedersen retains the lead after a massive mid-race crash resulted in neutralized times
Mads Pedersen was one of the many riders brought down in a crash on Stage 6, as heavy rain resulted in dangerously slippery roads between Potenza and Napoli. Apart from some soreness, Pedersen came away from the scare relatively unscathed, but will spend some time on the team osteopath’s table this evening to set him straight for Stage 7. It was decided by the jury that whilst there would still be a stage winner, there would be no time gaps taken into account and no ciclamino points available in Napoli, meaning a bruised Mads could safely make his way to the finish with the stakes lowered.
“I’ve had better days, to say like this. It’s never nice to crash in a downhill like this at 70kph. There were bikes everywhere, I lost mine as well. It happened in a fraction of a second. I feel the body right now. Had I felt good, I would have loved to contest the stage victory also today, I’m a racer and I want to win, but when you hit the deck like I did today, it’s not that easy. I feel the pain from the crash on my right hip, it was not ideal for racing for the win. I just couldn’t be part of a sprint and win today. I wasn’t keen to take more risks, we’re still a long way away from Rome. A decision to neutralise the race was made and I think it was fine.”
Pedersen has enjoyed his stint in the Maglia Rosa immensely so far, having proudly lead the race for five days total, though he is realistic when looking at his chances to retain the jersey tomorrow.
“It’s been a few super nice days, now I have a full story with the Maglia Rosa, it has made it an incredible start of the Giro for me and my team. I’ll enjoy the last moments tomorrow.”
After completing his podium duties as leader of both the general and points classifications, Mads was escorted to Napoli port, where he became the first Pink Jersey wearer to board the Amerigo Vespucci training ship. Whilst initially concerned that the nautical visit would mean an even later arrival in the hotel, a helpful highway escort from the Italian Carabinieri meant that Mads arrived at the hotel even ahead of the team bus.
