Mads Pedersen is radiant after winning the third stage of the pink race. In addition to winning at the Valona finish line, the Dane has reclaimed the pink jersey that he had worn on the first day and which he had only surrendered to Primoz Roglic for one day. Pedersen is happy and relaxed and believes that this Giro d'Italia could bring many satisfactions to him and his team, Lidl-Trek. "Naturally, I had doubts about the victory. Looking at the previous stage, we told ourselves: okay, I'll definitely be at the limit, but if other teams had really wanted to race on this climb, I would have been out the back door - he said during the press conference -. Even when UAE did everything to be at the front for the descent, I started right behind them and was definitely at the limit, but yesterday everything played in our favor".

Everything worked well for Lidl-Trek, with Ciccone and Vacek doing extraordinary work to bring the team to victory.
"Vacek is absolutely fantastic. This guy has a tremendous future ahead of him and has once again demonstrated what he's capable of. But you must also be careful, because he has the makings of someone who can win many races. I'll do everything possible to help him win a stage in this Giro because he deserves it so much. He was always by my side in all the Classics and now he's here again, and I'm so proud to have him because it makes a big difference to have him in the race".

Pedersen has handled the spring well, and although he hasn't won a Monument Classic, he podiumed at the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix and won Gent-Wevelgem. "After Roubaix, I didn't touch the bike for 7 days, then I started doing some endurance. Last week I did two three-day blocks and one rest day. My coach calls them intense intervals, and we believe it's an excellent preparation". Lidl-Trek has proven to be one of the strongest teams this season, with Pedersen bringing 6 victories since the start of the year.

"The fact that our team manager, Luca Guercilena, is fully back in the team is a strength for us. He had stepped away due to his illness but now he's back in command, and we feel this in the team. We have more personnel in the team and we're more present in training camps, and this also helps. Every small detail like nutrition, bikes, aerodynamics, clothing, and the fact that we have more people taking care of the riders: this creates less stress and more commitment for every rider, and I think this makes a big difference for us right now".

The Dane is very protective of his privacy, and his family is rarely present at races because he wants to keep his private life away from cameras, and when he's at home, he always tries to maintain a very reserved life away from the spotlight.

"I'm the one who decided to ride a bike and I'm the one who is at the center of media attention. My wife never decided to be in the spotlight, she married me but not my career, so if she doesn't want to be at the center of media attention, she won't be. And if I brought her to all the races, you would chase her for photos and comments and so on, and I want to avoid that. I really take care of my family and the privacy that surrounds all this, and it means a lot to me to keep these things separate. As I've already said, it's not her intention to be at the center of media attention".