"I've thought it was a mistake" - Mads Pedersen takes impressive win in Tour de France after risky breakaway
Cycling
Trek - Segafredo came to the Tour de France with the goal of obtaining a stage win, and they have succeeded today as Mads Pedersen cross the line first in Saint-Étienne on what was a complicated transition day.
“It’s incredible. I finally take the win I was looking for. Coming to the Tour, I knew my shape was good but I missed the opportunities in the first week. I took my chance today. It’s really nice to get the reward," the Dane said after the stage. As one of the favourites for the stage win, for a sprint, it was a surprise to see him up the road early on trying to make it into the front group.
He tried twice, successful on the second occasion, joined by teammate Quinn Simmons. The seven-rider group rolled well throughout the day, managing to comfortably hold off a fast but unsustainable peloton. Isolated in the final section of the stage, it was expected that Pedersen's rivals would put him under pressure, however he was the one dealing a blow as he split the group into two with 13 kilometers to go.
"The plan was that if more than four riders in the break, we should be in and I should be in. But for a long time, I’ve thought it was a mistake and we’d get caught by the bunch. But it was hard for everyone. It was such a long day. With 12km to go, I thought we were too many guys in the front group so I tried to attack. Luckily we split up the break and it was easier to control," he detailed.
Pedersen ended up riding a perfect stage, putting to good use his versatility to take a stage win in an unexpected scenario. This was the first one for Trek - Segafredo, who will have a lot of pressure of their shoulders after this triumph. "As a team, we came only with riders for stages, it’s a relief to get one win," he concluded.
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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- A great champion but a better human. jus' sayin'
Davide15-11-2026 - Congrats! It is done so now is time for CX.averagecyclist15-11-2026
- It's going to happen at some point. It will happen to Tadej as well, we all get older. Jonas was in pretty great form at the tour. I still consider him a top two or three cyclist in the world, until he's not.awp15-11-2026
- mij, I am not so sure of that. I have been on a spine ward at a Denver hospital that had quite a few spinal injuries from mountain biking.BDBigGuy15-11-2026
- Pogi takes care of his teammates in races and training. Tadej Pogačar is widely praised within the cycling peloton for his fair and egalitarian leadership, actively supporting his UAE teammates both on the road during races and behind the scenes at training camps. Rather than acting like an untouchable superstar, he has intense team loyalty by sharing daily chores, giving up personal glory to help domestiques, and publicly praising their sacrifices. Unlike some Grand Tour contenders, like Vingegaard, who occasionally train away from their squads, Pogi consistently attends team training camps alongside his domestiques, making the exact same sacrifices to build friendship. I love how Pogačar shares his teammates-domestiques, either when they succeed or win in races or when they simply just do a good job for him. It has to be a great moral boost for them. And then they work even harder and go even deeper for Pogi. This is teamwork.PogiSloFans15-11-2026
- Yeah, what he said!Lozza15-11-2026
- I’m sure Jasper Philipsen would disagree with you.Lozza15-11-2026
- Article says he was “out for a spin around the town”, implying not off-road.Lozza15-11-2026
- let’s be honest, Alpecin is all about one rider - MVDP. I’m sure he gets whatever he needs, the rest get the scraps.mij15-11-2026
- there are more vicious injuries on a road bike than a mountain bike far and away.mij15-11-2026
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COMPLETELY MADS 😍🏆 Congrats @Mads__Pedersen & @treksegafredo ! #Santini #TDF2022 #santinipeople @LeTour © @SprintCycling
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