Mads Pedersen strengthened his position in the Tour de France green jersey contest on stage 18, using a breakaway effort to rebuild his advantage over Jasper Philipsen.
The Lidl-Trek rider entered the day with pressure rising from Philipsen, who had cut deeply into his lead. The points classification had tightened after several days of intermediate sprint battles.
Philipsen, riding for Alpecin-Premier Tech, had beaten Pedersen at the intermediate sprint on three consecutive stages. Pedersen then answered on stage 17 by taking the maximum 25 points.
That response did not settle the contest. Philipsen sprinted to stage victory in Voiron, a result that reduced Pedersen’s green jersey lead to only seven points.
Pedersen responded quickly on stage 18. He fought into the breakaway, while Philipsen was distanced from the peloton during a demanding day in the mountains.
Green jersey contest swings back toward Pedersen
The breakaway placed Pedersen in the right position for the intermediate sprint at Corps, with 56km still to race. He won the sprint and collected the maximum 25 points.
That haul moved Pedersen 32 points ahead of Philipsen in the standings. With only three stages remaining, the Dane regained a clearer hold on the points competition.
Pedersen said the move required a major effort, especially while riding with climbers. He described the stage 18 push as energy well spent after the previous day’s frustration.
He also acknowledged the disappointment of losing ground in Voiron. Still, he pointed to the fact that he remained in green as motivation to keep attacking the contest.
Pedersen said he was still fighting all the way to Paris. Stage 18, he suggested, showed the value of responding immediately after a difficult day.
Pedersen eyes Paris with three stages left
The route still presents obstacles. Two Alpine stages remain before Paris, giving climbers more influence and making further intermediate sprint points harder for Pedersen to reach.
Even so, Pedersen indicated he will keep chasing any points available. He said he would try to collect more over the next few days whenever possible.
The green jersey contest now tilts toward Pedersen, but the remaining terrain leaves little room for complacency. Philipsen remains his main rival with Paris approaching.
Pedersen is also chasing a rare career milestone. If he secures the classification, he would become the sixth male rider to win the points competition at all three Grand Tours.
For now, his stage 18 breakaway has restored breathing room. It also gave Lidl-Trek’s leader control of the contest entering the final three stages.