"Everyone has worked hard all day for" second Vuelta win, as Mads Pedersen consolidates green jersey

Stage 16 had several topics at the end of the day, but the winner at the finish line was Mads Pedersen who has taken advantage of a complicated finale to play to his strenghts, taking a second win at the Vuelta a Espana.

“I didn't expect Roglic to go, but it was a very smart move, everyone was on the limit. Ackermann did very well by sitting right on his wheel and I had to expend a lot of energy to close the gap," Pedersen said after the finish. Although the German was the only one to promptly respond to Roglic, Pedersen soon managed to bridge across. He was the man to beat as he looked fresh in the wheel of the Slovenian from that moment onwards.

Pedersen was the first to launch his sprint, however he did not fail to capitalize on the opportunity. As chaos went down behind, the Dane raised his arms in glory for the second sprint in a row. His advantage on the points classification is now also of 220 points, as he carries 349 into stage 17.

His motivation to win on the day wasn't only on himself however, as he revealed another detail that saw him sprint all the way to the line: “I promised Alex Kirsch to win today. Yesterday couldn't be at the birth of his daughter, so this victory belongs to him, his wife and his child. Everyone has worked hard all day for that.”

On the crash of Roglic, which happened just a few wheels behind him, he commented: “I did not hear Roglič fall. I wanted to visit him after the finish, when I saw that his clothes were torn. It is a pity that he fell, is not happy this year. I hope it's not too bad and he can still compete for the overall victory in the Vuelta."