"It was a very hectic sprint" - Mads Pedersen emerges victorious amidst furious Paris-Nice sprint

Mads Pedersen rode to third on the opening day of Paris-Nice, but he's shown his speed as he raced towards victory in the second day of racing.

“It was a very hectic sprint. It was almost ten kilometers straight, with one more roundabout in the final. But the team did a great job, they kept us out of trouble. Alex (Kirsch, ed.) Then did a great lead-out. It was close, but I'm glad I made it," the former World Champion said in a post-race interview.

A tense and fast day in the French race, the lack of climbing favoured the likes of Tim Merlier and Sam Bennett. However, it was the Trek - Segafredo rider, who would favour the uphill terrain, who had a strong leadout and managed to be the fastest towards the line. Pedersen has also jumped to the yellow jersey after his success of the opening two days.

“That's nice too," he describes. Tomorrow he will race a special team time-trial in yellow - one where times are taken individually. "I've never done that in a race like this. It's fun to ride the team time trial with it. We certainly have a strong team for that. We hope to ride a good GC with Skjelmose, so it's very important to ride well for him tomorrow. We are now focused on tomorrow," he concluded.