The Dane powered through the 8.1-kilometer time trial to extend his lead on closest GC rivals
Pedersen started the day on equal time with Jasper Philipsen (UAE) after the pair both scored a first and second place finish across the two sprint stages. The former World Champion put in a solid ride to stop the clock in 10’08”, fourth position on the stage and just nine seconds shy of stage winner Søren Kragh Andersen (Sunweb).
Thanks to the time bonuses amassed in the first two sprint stages, where Pedersen took second place followed by a win, he started the time trial with a cushion over Kragh Andersen. Pedersen now leads the General Classification of the BinckBank Tour by seven seconds over compatriot Kragh Andersen with just the Queen Stage remaining. The final winner will be decided after a brutal classics-style battle between the two Danes, finishing on the infamous Muur van Geraardsbergen.
Despite conceding some time to his rival, Pedersen is confident his motivated Trek-Segafredo team can pull off the win tomorrow.
Mads Pedersen: “Definitely we know that Søren is impressively strong on time trials like this. I knew this morning that he would be the guy to beat. It was a good day for the Danish – a Danish win yesterday from me and Søren today.
We have a strong team and we really believe in it. I still believe we can win the GC and keep Søren behind. He’s really strong and the shape is good, but so am I. I came out of the Tour pretty good, so we hope for the best and we believe in it.”
