Despite tough climbs, Mads Pedersen not confident bunch sprint can be avoided: "Even with 40 degrees Celsius it would be a sprint"

Mads Pedersen is one of the sprinters who can climb the best in the peloton and at the ongoing Giro d'Italia. This would mean Trek-Segafredo would be a big fan of the hilly stage 5, however the Dane is not keen on trying to put on the hurt in rival sprinters.

"'Even with 40 degrees Celsius it would be a sprint. Everyone can handle the bike, even in the rain. It's no use trying," Pedersen said at the start of the day, an unusually negative statement from a rider who could benefit from the day. In search of the points classification the Dane has not had the best start, missing out on the sprint on stage 2 due to the late crash, and finishing second close to the win on stage 3.

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With several hilly days Pedersen likely remains the biggest favourite for Ciclamino. With 2600 meters of climbing and two difficult ascents many of the pure sprinters could well face difficulties on the day however the Dane's speech hints that Trek won't try to limit his competition.

Kaden Groves, Fernando Gaviria and Jonathan Milan start the day as favourites however if the pace is pushed in the tough day under heavy rain the likes of Michael Matthews and Pedersen could quickly become big favourites for the day.

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Rain, rain and again rain ☔️ Stage 5 of #Giro, from Atripalda to Salerno, has just started 👊

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