Mads Pedersen (Denmark) seemed to be out of the fight for a good result several times in the Montreal World Championships road race, but the 2019 World Champion raced defensively, staying within his own limits and using his stamina to return to the earlier attackers on the final lap to still race for the medals, finishing sixth on the line, 14 seconds behind World Champion Brandon McNulty (USA).
Danish national coach Michael Mørkøv, a crucial part of the 2019 selection that delivered Pedersen’s rainbow jersey, had laid the plan that his star shouldn’t be seen until the end and only show up in the final.
“And you bloody didn’t see me,” laughed Pedersen in the mixed zone after the race before explaining the tactic in detail.
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"We had been very optimistic that I was going to be the leader and race for the medals, and in the end, I am doing just that. It was a tactic where we gambled, I was trying to stay in a zone I could control and then come back, come back, come back," the 30-year-old said.
"And it went exactly like we planned. There just wasn’t anything left in the end. It was a decent day, and on a very hard course that doesn’t suit me much at all, so it was a good trip to Canada.
If the Danish gamble hadn’t paid off, Pedersen hadn’t made the bridge and finished anonymously, that would have been an acceptable result too.
"We had accepted on the team that if the plan didn’t work out, that would have been okay too. If that is the worst-case scenario, it isn’t hard to stay fighting and fighting and fighting," said Pedersen, who found a Swiss ally to help him chase.
"I found a good partner in Mauro Schmid who was with me, we just kept pushing. We traded turns, and all of a sudden we were there fighting for the medals."
One aspect of racing from behind was that the Danish classics specialist had no idea who exactly had gone off the front, only learning about McNulty’s solo victory afterwards.
"I only saw it after the finish line. Hats off to him, congratulations, I hope he will enjoy the next year in the rainbow jersey," said Pedersen whose own year in the rainbow jersey was interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mørkøv himself was also happy that his plan had worked out almost to perfection.
"Yes, I am satisfied. The boys raced well, they were ready when we hit the circuit and were part of the race. And Mads raced defensively, from the back, and in the end he’s only a few seconds from the gold medal," Mørkøv told Cyclingnews after the race.
Before Pedersen’s late surge, Anthon Charmig had already made his mark on the race. The 28-year-old had impressed with a third place in the GP de Québec in early September, earning him a late selection when Mattias Skjelmose pulled out, and he made the most of the opportunity, launching a gutsy attack with just under 100km to go and leading the race solo for a while.
"Anthon felt that an attack was about to happen. It wasn’t from an offensive mindset; it was mainly a possibility to get off the front in a group. A bit surprisingly, nobody went with him, because of course he’d hoped to get some riders with him and get ahead of the favourites. Instead, he was out there alone and waiting for company," explained Mørkøv.
