"It's a good step forward compared to yesterday" - Mads Pedersen much happier with the work of his sprint train

Mads Pedersen voiced dissatisfaction with the work of his sprint train after the first stage of Paris-Nice when the Danish rider didn't even reach the top-10. However the second stage with finish in Bellgrade went much better when he initially placed 4th and, after the relegation of Hugo Page, moved up onto the podium.

"It went like we planned and what we wanted to change from yesterday," Pedersen said afterwards in an interview for Cycling Pro Net. "So of course a podium would have been nice but it's a good step forward and especially in a sprint that doesn't really suit me."

"The last 5 kilometers were just too straightforward, nothing to take the speed out of peloton or anything. And when it's straightforward like this, the riders are more fresh. It's harder to control where to position yourself and the team."

"The positioning battle at the front starts quite early in this race, already at 60-70 kilometers to go with GC teams at the front. We can't even pull anymore with the guys we want to pull with. The stress level is incredibly high. Maybe that's just racing nowadays."