Mattias Skjelmose appreciates gifted victory from Mads Pedersen: "It means a lot to me that he gave me this win"

It doesn't get much better than on Thursday's Tour of Denmark stage for Lidl-Trek. After taking the race on early, Mads Pedersen gave his everything to deliver Mattias Skjelmose to victory on the iconic Vejle stage.

After the Lidl-Trek team reeled in the breakaway and softened up the peloton, Mads Pedersen attacked and attacked again until he was alone at the head of the race. Skjelmose was able to save his legs, waiting for the ideal moment to launch his attack. The Danish champion attacked on the uphill, distancing the rest of the chasers and bridging across to Pedersen. From there it was two-men Danish show, concluding the stage with a convincing 1-2 on the day as well as in the GC.

"It’s just amazing. I think Kiddesvej is the biggest scene in Denmark and to do 1-2 with Mads is incredible. I tried to convince him to follow me on the climb but in the end, he let me go, he wanted me to win solo and it means a lot to me that he gave me this win. It’s super nice to do this in our home race," Skjelmose said in a press release.

"This stage race is super special for us and this course is an iconic stage for Danish riders and to see Mattias winning this stage in the national champ’s jersey is really special for me and for sure, for him. If you ask Kim, I think he would say this is one of the most beautiful victories he had and it’s really special. To be first and second on this stage is unbelievable for us and for sure, this will be something that we will remember for a long time. I went full, super deep today but it was really worth it to put pressure on the other guys and make sure that they had to work so Skjelmose was in the perfect position. I joked this morning that we would go first and second with Mattias and me but we actually made it happen so that’s incredible," added Mads Pedersen.