Mads Pedersen was massively dissatisfied after seeing an opportunity of a Milan-San Remo victory forward of him on the through Roma for a cut up second, just for Jasper Philipsen to grab it from him within the remaining metres of the high-speed 12-rider dash.
Lidl-Trek had executed their deliberate race technique, with Pedersen and Jasper Stuyven within the choose group excessive of the Poggio. The thousand totally different eventualities that Stuyven had talked about pre-race then got here right down to a dash after Mathieu van der Poel closed down the late assaults.
Pedersen was there and Stuyven led him down the Through Roma, catching a remaining assault from Tom Pidcock, however because the Dane surged down the left of the street, Michael Matthews and Tadej Pogačar went on the opposite aspect and edged forward. Pedersen dove throughout the street in direction of them however completed fourth, cruelly off the rostrum.
“I am proud of the best way we rode as a workforce, however I am sorry that I did not do a greater dash and at the very least end on the rostrum. So I am sorry, and I am dissatisfied,” Pedersen mentioned, lengthy after the end, after preferring to let his disappointment fade on the Lidl-Trek workforce bus.
“It is a monument and I missed out on delivering the consequence the workforce deserved as we speak,” he added.
“On a day like as we speak, with the best way we rode and with the assistance of Jasper within the remaining, I ought to have at the very least been on the rostrum, and that is why it is much more disappointing for myself that I did not do this.”
Stuyven tried to be extra upbeat about Lidl-Trek’s efficiency.
Mathieu van der Poel had named Lidl-Trek because the strongest workforce of the race, higher than UAE Staff Emirates, who lacked riders for an assault on the Cipressa and to guard Pogačar.
Jacopo Mosca did loads of the exhausting miles within the opening 2 hundred kilometres, guaranteeing the 10-rider break by no means gained greater than two minutes. Jonathan Milan was distanced on the Cipressa however fought to get again on and did what he might, as did Toms Skujiņš, who completed within the chase group, and the opposite domestiques who labored for Pedersen and Stuyven.
“I feel we did what we needed to do, then in a dash, the legs converse,” Stuyven mentioned truthfully.
“We did every thing we needed to do. The workforce was good, as deliberate. We’re simply lacking the cherry on the cake.”
Pedersen was quietly assured about his possibilities earlier than Milan-San Remo. Final 12 months he ‘blew his engine’ when attempting to observe the Pogacar assaults on the Poggio. He suffered once more this 12 months however had one thing left as he crested the Poggio and fought again into rivalry on the descent and the flat street in San Remo.
“It was an anticipated finish to the race,” Stuyven urged.
“Everybody waited for Tadej to launch, so the totally different doable eventualities began when he did not get away and we began the final 500 metres of the Poggio and the descent.
“On the backside, we noticed that something might have occurred. From there it was about attempting to handle issues.”
Stuyven discovered one remaining comfort.
“You all the time need to discover a optimistic and it was that each Mads and I are there for the approaching weeks,” he mentioned, seeking to the quickly approaching cobbled Classics with optimism.
