After a close call on the line, it was confirmed that Mads Pedersen had done enough to step onto the podium at Ronde van Vlaanderen for the second time in his career.
The Danish rider went all-in today, attacking from the peloton early to anticipate the moves of 'The Big Three' before eventually out-sprinting Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Vimsa) to claim third in Oudenaarde behind Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) and Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin - Deceuninck).
Mads Pedersen
"I can't complain today, everything happened pretty much as I wanted. I didn't know exactly when I wanted to go but I knew I wanted to go early. I said before the race I wanted to anticipate and be in front of 'The Big Three' when they were going and we succeeded with the plan quite well but they still came pretty fast. I believed I could win today and even though in the end, Pogačar and van der Poel were stronger, I am really happy. I am always racing to win but a podium result here is still really good.
"When Pogi went passed me on the Kwaremont, I knew I couldn't follow him and it would have been stupid to try to do it. He's also fighting to win the Tour de France so, of course, he is faster than me on climbs and that's not a pity. I think trying to follow him would have been a mistake as if I popped then I would have been out of the group I was in, so I wanted to keep my own tempo.
"Then, when Mathieu passed me on the top I really wanted to stay on his wheel but it was not possible but I am really satisfied with today. I knew I had to do something. We talk about those three and they are by far the strongest but if you try to anticipate and get in front of them then the results can still happen and I think I took my chance today and I ended with a good result.
"I think I did a little bit too long of a sprint but I managed to keep Wout behind on the finish line. I think everyone was pretty empty at that point, but it was still a nice sprint. It's never easy to beat him, he's a fast sprinter but I did enough and I am happy I could beat him for the third place."
