“We didn't have the time of our lives but we had a really
good time,”
Pedersen told Cycling News after the final stage in Rome. “We
have six stage victories and the ciclamino jersey, it's incredible. Not a lot
of teams will ever be able to do this, so for us this is absolutely insane to
be able to do it.”
The final tally also included stage wins for Carlos Verona
and Daan Hoole, in what proved to be a masterfully executed Grand Tour for
Lidl–Trek.
Reflecting on the Giro experience, Pedersen was candid about
why he prefers the Italian Grand Tour to the Tour de France, an event he is notably skipping this year in
favour of teammate Jonathan Milan.
Was Pedersen the best rider at the Giro?
“I've always liked the races like this, the Giro and the
Vuelta,” he said. “The Tour is really stressful and it takes a lot of attention
and pressure, not only from ourselves but also from management and sponsors and
so on.”
“While here, there's a bit more freedom and you can play
around a bit. Okay, we were also lucky, in the first five days we already had
three victories and of course that helps to make it more free, to play around
and try what we want. But I really enjoy it as well.”
On Stage 21, Pedersen rode conservatively in the sprint
finale, happy to avoid unnecessary risk as the race wound down.
“It's one of these days, I was not really willing to risk it
to win, but I ended up in a good position in the last corner,” he explained. “To
be honest I didn't have the legs to pass Kooij in the sprint or even open the
sprint. I just found myself in the wheel and opened the sprint in his wheel and
then stayed there until we passed the finish line. In the end, no risk today
and I'm here still today with all my skin and that's successful.”
While he won’t be at the Tour de France next month, Pedersen
leaves Italy satisfied and proud of both his own results and his team’s
collective success.
“I know this is not the Tour, and this is not the pink
jersey or anything like that. But with the race we've had I think we can give
ourselves a big round of applause and be proud of what we did.”