Mads Pedersen defends tactics after missing Tour de France stage win

Danish cyclist Mads Pedersen secured sixth place on the Tour de France's ninth stage, concluding a nearly 500-meter sprint that fell just short of catching the breakaway leaders. Pedersen, wearing the green points jersey, finished only six seconds behind stage winner Mathieu van der Poel.

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It would have been great to race for the victory. It was an extremely strong breakaway. In the end, I got some good points from this stage.

Following the stage, Pedersen addressed questions about his team's strategy, particularly the decision to let a breakaway group, which included two Lidl-Trek riders earlier, stay ahead. He explained that the team had multiple objectives and prioritized accumulating points over an all-out chase for a single stage win. "It would have been great to race for the victory. It was an extremely strong breakaway. In the end, I got some good points from this stage," Pedersen told TV 2 Sport.

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The others have moved back a bit, and they may have something to think about in relation to seeing that I can climb well.

Pedersen also clarified why teammates like Mattias Skjelmose and Juan Ayuso were not used to reel in the breakaway. He stated that their energy was being conserved for other goals within the race. "We could have burned off Skjelmose and Ayuso, but that's not what we are here for. We have two agendas in this bike race," he explained, adding that he didn't believe Skjelmose could have made the decisive difference in catching the leaders.

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We could have burned off Skjelmose and Ayuso, but that's not what we are here for. We have two agendas in this bike race.