Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) has been on an exceptional roll at the Giro d'Italia with three victories so far, but a fourth-place finish in the stage 12 sprint into Viadana has left him counting points lost toward his maglia ciclamino lead.
Pedersen currently has 177 points in the points classification, a whopping 72 more than runner-up Olav Kooij (Visma-Lease a Bike), who increased his points to 105 after winning the bunch sprint on stage 12.
"It's not secure yet. There are still a few more sprint days with points on the line. Today [Olav Kooij] gained 25 or 30 points. It's not sure before we are in Rome," Pedersen said in an interview with Cycling Pro Net when asked if he felt he had the points classification sewn up with still nine days of racing to go.
Pedersen and Lidl-Trek have had an outstanding opening week of the Giro, where Pedersen won the stage 1 sprint into Tirana and claimed both the maglia rosa and maglia ciclamino.
He went on to win stage 3 in Vlorë, a fourth place on stage 4 into Lecce, and then bounced back with another win on stage 5 into Matera.
As the race headed into the mountains, the Strade Bianche-style and the time trial over the next five days, stage 12 offered the next opportunity for the sprinters, but Pedersen said the fast and hectic finale didn't suit him.
"It's OK. This final doesn't really suit me. I'm not scared, but it's so fast, and riders are everywhere, and we all know that this left corner is basically the finish line, and it's really hectic to do this," he said following the stage.
Kooij got the better of the sprinters and won a close-fought kick to the line, benefitting from a powerful lead-out from his teammate Wout van Aert in the final kilometre. Casper van Uden (Picnic PostNL) finished second, and Ben Turner (Ineos Grenadiers) was third, with Pedersen fourth.
"In the end, a fourth place is really good. In this finish, it is all about speed, and the other guys were faster."
The next anticipated sprint stages include Friday's stage 13 into Vicenza, stage 14 into Nova Gorica and Gorizia, and the stage 21 finale in Rome.
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