How it happened
It was a stressful day in the Paris-Nice peloton, evidenced by the early fight for positioning and several crashes as the race heated up. Julien Bernard hit the deck in one collision but was able to remount and return to the peloton ahead of the finish. Another crash on the first passage of the finish line caused splits in the peloton, leading to a momentary panic for Lidl-Trek’s GC contender Mattias Skjelmose. Fortunately, he was shepherded back to the peloton by Otto Vergaerde. After a disappointing result in the opening stage, Lidl-Trek was motivated to produce a smooth lead-out and give Mads Pedersen the chance to sprint for the win. In the high-speed sprint, Pedersen crossed the line in fourth position, but a relegated Hugo Page meant that Mads found himself on the podium.
In Mads’ words
“It went good, like we planned and how we wanted to after the changes from yesterday. It’s a good step forward, especially in a sprint that doesn’t suit me. The last 5km were straight forward, with no corners to take the speed out of the peloton. When it’s straight forward like this riders are more fresh so it’s a bit harder to control and position yourself and the team. I’m not a big gambler in sprints, I want to finish the race without scratches. The positioning starts quite early, already 60-70km with the GC teams at the front.”
The day in photos
Courtesy of Getty
Otto leads the charge
