"It was them against us, but they won" - Attacking Mads Pedersen unable to add European title to palmares in Limburg

A world champion back in 2019, Mads Pedersen was looking to add a European road race title to his palmares in Limburg on Sunday afternoon. Despite a bright and attacking display however, the Dane eventually had to settle for 6th at the line.

"We did everything we could to make the race as hard as possible and to make it difficult for the sprinters. But nowadays they are so good, all of them," assesses the 28-year-old in his post-race interview afterwards. "I ended up finishing well and that's something I'm happy about. It was a messy sprint, but all in all we can be satisfied with the course of the race."

With 50km to go, Pedersen was part of a breakaway that also included the likes of defending European champion Christophe Laporte and reigning world champion, Mathieu van der Poel. Despite some good cohesion among the attackers, the peloton simply denied any real leeway and heading into the final 20km, Pedersen was back in the peloton, refocusing for the final sprint.

"We had a strong group and threw ourselves completely, but we knew that Belgium and Italy would close the gap if they didn't have anyone with them," Pedersen concludes, seemingly without regret about the wasted effort on the attack. "It was them against us, but they won."

In the end, it was joy for Belgium and for Tim Merlier in Limburg as the Soudal - Quick-Step sprinter took the win ahead of Olav Kooij and Madis Mihkels.