"I burned so many matches…" - Mads Pedersen makes big climbing impression en route to Green Jersey win at Paris-Nice 2025

Mads Pedersen has long been thought of as one of the more well-rounded of the 'sprinters' in the peloton, with a number of GC wins added to his palmares over the years. At Paris-Nice 2025 this week though, the Danish star of Lidl-Trek has been climbing with some of the very best in the world, with Pedersen rewarded by a Green Jersey win.

On the final stage, the Points Classification was still in the balance. In an attempt to reaffirm his lead at the top of the standings, Pedersen was relentlessly attacking, despite the mountainous parcours that the peloton were tasked with. "I wanted to go in the break and do everything I could to get the 10 points in the intermediate sprint. If I could do that without Matteo Jorgenson scoring, then the jersey was secured no matter the result on the finish line," explained Pedersen in his post-stage interview afterwards. 

That was easier said than done though, and in the end it required arguably the best climbing performance of his career for Pedersen. "It’s super nice to win the green jersey. I already wore it a few times in the race but lost it on the last day. Now I can finally say I won the sprinters’ jersey in Paris-Nice," he concluded delightedly. "I never thought I could win the stage. I burned so many matches… I knew on the last climb I wouldn’t be able to do it. With this shape, going into next week, with Sanremo and the classics, it’s really nice. Now we just have to stay healthy and keep going."