Mads Pedersen secured his fourth stage win in this edition of the Giro d’Italia on Friday. The Dane outpaced Wout van Aert and pink jersey wearer Isaac Del Toro on a challenging climb.
The 29-year-old Pedersen held off Van Aert by half a bike length on a nearly 1-kilometer final climb in Vicenza. Del Toro finished third at a respectable distance.
Thanks to that third place and some bonus seconds along the way, Del Toro strengthened his leading position in the general classification. The Mexican from UAE Team Emirates now has a 38-second lead over his teammate Juan Ayuso.
Thymen Arensman dropped out of the top ten in the standings. The Dutchman crossed the finish line eighteen seconds behind Pedersen. He is now thirteenth and nearly three minutes behind Del Toro.
Pedersen previously won the first, third, and fifth stages in the Giro. Earlier this season, the Lidl-Trek rider also won Gent-Wevelgem and a stage in Paris-Nice, among other races.
Bardet CAUGHT ON Final Climb
In the 180-kilometer stage from Rovigo to Vicenza, the riders faced a tough finale with two climbs of the fourth category. In the final, Romain Bardet and Mathias Vacek broke away from the thinned peloton.
The duo started the final ascent of Monte Berico (0.8 kilometers at 7.8 percent) with a small lead. Halfway up the climb, Vacek and Bardet, who is competing in his last major cycling tour, were caught.
Subsequently, Pedersen launched his sprint from far out and reeled himself to victory. Van Aert got a little closer in the final meters but could not keep the Dane from his fourth stage win.