“That was the dream, but it didn’t work out” – Mads Pedersen’s plan to wipe out Tour de France sprint points falls short
CyclingThursday, 16 July 2026 at 19:09
Mads Pedersen and Lidl-Trek tried to remove the sprinters from the equation altogether on stage 12 of the Tour de France, repeatedly attacking in the closing kilometres as the fight for the green jersey tightened behind them.
The moves failed to prevent the expected bunch finish in Chalon-sur-Saone, where Tim Merlier claimed his third stage victory ahead of Olav Kooij and Jasper Philipsen.
Pedersen crossed the line in ninth place, limiting his losses but watching three of his closest points-classification rivals finish ahead of him. Lidl-Trek had hoped to avoid that direct contest entirely by forcing a sizeable group clear before the sprint teams could regain control.
“The ideal scenario would have been for a group of 10 or 15 riders to get away when we started attacking left and right, because then all the points would have been gone,” Pedersen told TV 2 Sport. “That was the dream, but it didn’t work out.”
Lidl-Trek refuse to wait for the sprint
Rather than commit solely to positioning Pedersen for another direct contest with the pure sprinters, Lidl-Trek attempted to disrupt the approach to the finish. A successful late move containing 10 or 15 riders would have swallowed the highest available finishing points and denied Merlier, Philipsen and the other fast men the chance to make significant gains on Pedersen.
The repeated accelerations also placed pressure on sprint teams whose riders had already spent much of the day controlling the race. Lidl-Trek continued to probe for a moment of hesitation, knowing that even a brief lapse could have allowed the right combination of riders to escape.
“You never know,” Pedersen said. “Maybe the sprint teams suddenly had no riders left, or hesitated for 30 seconds while the right group got away. So we might as well keep trying until it no longer made sense.”
That hesitation never came. The attacks were neutralised, the peloton regrouped and Merlier converted another sprint opportunity, while Pedersen was left fighting for the minor places once the race reached the final straight.
Pedersen retains his lead in the Green Jersey classification
Pedersen protects 40-point green jersey lead
Pedersen nevertheless remains in control of the points classification after stage 12. The Dane leads with 357 points, 40 clear of Biniam Girmay on 317, while Philipsen sits on 311 and Merlier has climbed to 307. Max Kanter remains fifth with 239 points.
Only 10 points now separate Girmay, Philipsen and Merlier, but Pedersen continues to hold the more substantial advantage despite missing the podium in Chalon-sur-Saone. His ninth place did not deliver the outcome Lidl-Trek had pursued during the final kilometres, yet it prevented any single rival from making a decisive breakthrough.
“In the end, it was a decent day of damage limitation,” Pedersen said.
Merlier gained most through the stage victory, but Pedersen still left Chalon-sur-Saone with a 40-point buffer and another sprint opportunity removed from the remaining Tour route.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- UAE had their reasons. They didn't want teammates from Visma to get up the road to help Jonas later and it kept aggressiveness down in the main peloton. plus it preserved the stage should they want to go for it. they can race as they wish based on the best tactics for them, they are not there to please you, or the peloton.mij16-07-2026
- it isn't the intermediate sprint that is the leg crusher, it is getting up the road to be a part of it. that burns a lot of matches.mij16-07-2026
- I think there is more resentment because they didn't end up going for the stage win on stage 9. Then it ends up being unsportsmanly as they help the peloton against the breakaway, without actually trying to win, as I said in my other comment. It is also possible that Pogačar wants to show van der Poel that he can fight it out with him I'd he wanted to, but doesn't because it's the Tour de France and he can't exactly join in in the breakaway.
Rafionain-Glas16-07-2026 - Merlier has been going for the intermediate sprints but not at the cost of the stage win. He never sprints fully. Although I don't see how a little sprint would mean he can't sprint later. But maybe it does. It was like that last year, where Milan always outsprinted him at the intermediate sprints but Merlier was faster at the finish.Rafionain-Glas16-07-2026
- They have a strong team indeed but it is not really UAE to WHAT or WHO Pogacar is. You could pick his supportive riders from any team and make several hundreds of variations and yet he would still win. About the salary cap: Pogacar is extremely underpaid despite being the most paid rider:) Just look at price / performance. How much captains of rival teams earn and how much they actually win? Put all their achievements in one bag and directly compare it with his bag. Just to have idea of what he should have earned... People have a lot of money they cannot really spend, or better to say, don't really know how to enrich it. If smart, one would just buy out the player clause and put his name in "eternity", relying on Pogacar already having a legendary status in the cycling industry. Then start something greater. Anyone? It's peanuts!Bublubublu16-07-2026
- His sprints are unbelievable - coming out of the back row and winning by substantial margins. really impressive.mij16-07-2026
- so it is interesting - everyone complains about UAE attacking and resisting the break aways to protect their yellow. where are the haters for Lidl Trek doing the same to protect their green? and BTW, I don't have an issue with either team dictating the tempo that is best for their team. go for it.mij16-07-2026
- The good news for Mads is that I don't think Merlier has any interest in green - so him winning is great. Merlier won't go after the intermediate points.mij16-07-2026
- was anybody injured?Ketterechts16-07-2026
- I'm in agreement with you. and at your age group too - double 25. I respect not attacking during a feed zone so everyone has an organized chance for nutrition and such. but the rest of it is b.s. I love watching racing. bare knuckled, fight it out every day, and shake hands at the finish. not "oh we will let you win today so you feel good about yourself" crap.mij16-07-2026
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