Pedersen and Lidl-Trek have mixed feelings after first Tour stage: "We will keep trying for 20 more stages"

Mads Pedersen and his Lidl-Trek team did everything they could in Saturday's opening stage of the Tour de France to ensure that the Dane could sprint for a win, but ultimately, a seventh place was the best the former world champion could achieve. He and teammate Giulio Ciccone shared their thoughts on the day in a brief statement through the team.

Pedersen saw his team give their all, but in the end, it was Romain Bardet and Frank van den Broek from dsm-firmenich PostNL who broke away. A Danish interviewer suggested that he was close to the yellow jersey, but Pedersen didn’t quite agree. "I wasn’t close. I finished somewhere in the top ten, and with two riders ahead, you don’t come close to yellow," he said directly.

"We emptied ourselves completely, but so did everyone else. There’s only one way to experience such a chase, and that’s by giving everything, which we did," Pedersen praised Carlos Verona, Julien Bernard, Toms Skujins, and Ciccone. "But hats off to the guys who managed to stay ahead."

Ciccone and Lidl-Trek will keep trying in the remaining 20 stages

Ciccone experienced the stage in his home country Italy in his own way. "Such a first stage is always tough, but with the heat and the course, it became even harder. A difficult start, you have to drink a lot and put ice on your back. It’s a matter of staying cool and, kind of, surviving," described the Lidl-Trek climber about the situation in the peloton on a day like this.

"We tried with Mads, but the finale was ultimately disappointing. However, that’s how cycling goes, especially in such a first stage. In the remaining twenty stages, we will keep trying," the always positive climber maintained his optimism.