“If Vingegaard keeps winning the mountain stages...” – Mads Pedersen sees biggest Green Jersey threat at La Vuelta

Mads Pedersen ended stage 9 of the 2025 Vuelta a España without a victory but still in green, speaking afterwards to the race’s official website about a day dominated by Jonas Vingegaard. The Dane admitted he had not chased the move that created the breakaway, as his focus was on supporting Giulio Ciccone. Ciccone eventually placed seventh, 1:46 behind Vingegaard, while Pedersen continued to lead the points classification with 120 points, nine clear of Ethan Vernon and fifteen ahead of Jasper Philipsen. Despite not yet raising his arms in this edition, Pedersen remains determined to fight on.

“No, I didn't try to reach the breakaway, we tried to control the race for [Giulio] Ciccone, we had to be in the mix to control the breakaway. I don't even know what happened in the race, I know [Jonas Vingegaard] won and that's it. Maybe you have to ask me the day after (laughing),” Pedersen said after the finish. His attention, though, quickly turned back to the points competition. “I know that he won, good job, and I have to see what happened with Cicco. If [Vingegaard] keeps winning the mountain stages, he will earn the points and the [green] jersey, it is what it is, but we won’t give it up for free and he can't also win every mountain stages. So we will see, we keep fighting.”

Before the start of the stage, Pedersen had reflected on his winless run so far and his priorities for the rest of the race. “We can’t change the results now. All we can do is look ahead and keep trying to win a stage. I want to win stages,” he told Cycling News. “Picking up points in the intermediate sprints is something we have to do, but winning is the most important thing. That’s what it’s all about.”

Still, he emphasised his role within the team and the need to balance his ambitions with Ciccone’s general classification campaign. “Of course there are some days when it is not possible for me to win, and on those days I am of course at the service of Cicco, but we also have six other people besides me who can help him. So now we have to see what the team's plan is for the next few days.”