Mads Pedersen

Mads Pedersen ended his wait for a win at this year's La Vuelta as he beat Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) in Stage 13 in a punchy sprint finish.

Bou and Okamika pressed on for another 5km before succumbing to the inevitable as the jostling for positions began in earnest ahead of a tense finale. The race continues on Saturday with a summit showdown on the Pandera climb where Spanish veteran Alejandro Valverde took the second of his 12 career Vuelta stage wins 19 years ago. “I came here for a stage win and now we have one, we can fight for another. To follow Ackermann is a full sprint, so it was a 330-metre sprint today. There was no change in the general classification as Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) finished safely in the pack to retain the red jersey for an eighth day. Frenchman Bryan Coquard (Codifis) took a distant second while Ackermann – banging his handlebars in frustration – had to settle for third place ahead of Britain’s Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious).

After several close calls, Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) stormed to his first stage win of this year's Vuelta a España on the uphill finish into Montilla on ...

We will keep fighting for the stages and we will see how it goes.” It meant that I could jump with him but it was a long sprint. It was a chaotic finale with several different teams taking over the pace-setting in the final few hundred meters.

Top favourite for the stage, Mads Pedersen, didn't disappoint on the uphill finish. Pedersen launched his green jersey past Pascal Ackermann.

I wanted to end the last kilometre in a good position. The German immediately got a gap, but could only watch as the green jersey of Pedersen shot past him for the win. It was a long long sprint. Mads Pedersen won the thirteenth stage of the Vuelta a España. After Remco Evenepoel was safely delivered into the final 3 kilometres, the sprinters started to manoeuvre themselves for the uphill finish. The sprinter’s teams kept the gap to the three leaders limited: they only had a maximum of 3:30. Van den Berg took his chance for a stage win, but the sprinter’s teams had a different idea. A relatively flat stage, which offered opportunities for the sprinters and the strong finishers. After that the preparation for a bunch sprint began. Vuelta Stage Report: Top favourite for the stage win, Mads Pedersen, didn’t disappoint on the uphill finish in Montilla. The young Spaniard, however, remains in the race because “analysing his PCR found he had a very low risk of infectivity.” The most explosive riders will have to make their teams work hard in order to control the arrival at the finish-line.”

Danish rider finally secures a stage win at the Spanish Grand Tour wearing the green jersey.

After a small crash earlier in the stage, Thibault Guernalec (Arkéa-Samsic) abandoned the race due to some minor injuries. After going close earlier in the race the Danish rider would finally have his day as he secured an impressive stage win. 147 riders started the stage in Ronda including Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) despite the Spanish rider An avid cycling follower with a keen interest in racing, his writing previously featured on Casquettes and Bidons. As they flew under one kilometre to go Trek-Segafredo, Ineos Grenadiers and Jumbo-Visma began the final battle of the day for positioning. The intermediate sprint wasn’t contested as all eyes were on the finish in Montilla. With 66 kilometres to go, the breakaway was firmly established and three men had a lead of more than three minutes over the peloton. The first phase of the day was highly-paced and frenetic with multiple riders trying to get into the day’s breakaway. Bora-Hansgrohe moved to the front of the peloton and put in a mammoth turn on the front of the main field in an attempt to reduce the time deficit to the leaders. As the peloton flew towards the slightly uphill finish in Andalusia, Trek-Segafredo had assembled their men perfectly with the aim of setting up the Danish rider. In the end there would be no stopping Pedersen. Pedersen was straight onto the German rider’s back wheel as Ackermann continued to push on, but he would soon tire.

Dane tightens grip on Vuelta green jersey with dominant win.

"I have a comfortable lead in the points jersey, but it would have been nice to have Sam here fighting for it too." That status brought its own pressure, but Pedersen is a man with a balanced view of the world. "I know the shape is super good, but I also have a life next to cycling and I also have a family at home. "We didn’t feel pressure from the media or from people outside the team, but of course we put some pressure on ourselves to try to win the stage, so it was up to me to deliver in the end," Pedersen said. His writing has appeared in The Independent, Procycling and Cycling Plus. He has covered professional cycling since 2010, reporting from the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and events from Argentina to Japan. "I’m super happy and super proud of the season I had so far. If I had to do the Worlds, I would have had to go straight from here to Australia, and that would have made it seven weeks away from home. Carrying the green jersey to Madrid will serve only to underscore his consistency. When the peloton lined up in Ronda on Friday morning, Pedersen was the consensus favourite for stage victory, which meant the onus was on his Trek-Segafredo squad to perform much of the heavy lifting to ensure the day finished in a mass sprint. We’re happy with the season we’ve had so far – and seeing my wife again will also be pretty nice." His effervescence in Spain hasn’t hastened a change of heart.