Mads Pedersen rushes to win and tops the Baloise Tour in Belgium: “Philipsen exploded in the last metres” | Cycling

Anyone who took notice last year knows that things are serious in the opening phase of the Baloise Belgium Tour. Remco Evenepoel laid the foundation for his overall victory there last year. At the Flemish Ardennes, the peloton was waiting for four domestic laps with all-time hangman Berg Ten Hute.

The hour of play began in and around the small village of Louise Marie, 70 kilometers from the end. Schmid, Pedersen and Hermanns were the first big names to lift their butt and close the gap with five top runaways in one go. The Norwegians did not give up on Uno-X and kept everything on a handkerchief.

The attackers were quickly restored, but this does not mean that the confrontation is over. Hermanns tried twice and Campinarts and Risbeek made the race difficult. Resilience was about to explode for many. For men like Jacobsen, it was often offloading and returning.

That story continued under Trek-Segafredo’s direction into the final match. There the match was played for the leader’s shirt and a stage win. Pedersen and Schmid each had an extra six seconds in the golden kilometer.

The Dane recovered quickly by biting the Sénéchal wheel after a few kilometers on Berg Ten Houte. Philipsen and Hermanns also did not fold. With about fifteen passengers, he went straight to the end. Philipsen tried from afar, but in the end there was no cure for Pedersen.

Usually a guy when the weather is bad, now shepherd in the summer temperatures in Markidal. It was clear that Mads Pedersen was delighted with his victory. “It was a tough race day. It was warm and it was a classic course. The final is really tough with Berg Ten Hute and the finish is tough too. Soon Jasper Philipsen had a gap. It was cursing me, but it blew up in the last few metres. I can take advantage of that. My focus is on this race, but of course I’m dreaming of yellow in Denmark. It’s going to be tough, but it’s definitely a goal.”