The finale of the third stage of the Vuelta a España, ending in Ceres, was highly contested. The victory surprisingly went to David Gaudu (Groupama - FDJ), who crossed the finish line first. Behind him were Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-lease a Bike) who maintained the red jersey, and Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) in fourth place.

The American team had worked all day for Pedersen, and Ciccone had also helped his teammate find the right position for the sprint. Unfortunately, however, the victory went to the French rider Gaudu, and Lidl-Trek had to settle for a placement.

"I think we did an extraordinary job as a team today. The main objective was to win the stage with Mads" - Ciccone said after the finish line - "I think we had an excellent stage and it wasn't easy to tackle a finale like today's".

In the finale, Pedersen had his teammates trying to position him for the sprint, but in the last curve, Gaudu passed in front of Vingegaard and after overtaking Pedersen, crossed the finish line first.

"I tried to start my long sprint to launch Mads, but it wasn't enough. We did what we had to do, but we couldn't take the victory".

Ciccone, in yesterday's stage ending in Limone Piemonte, finished second behind Vingegaard, and today his Lidl-Trek had to settle for second place again.

"I think races go like this: sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. For yesterday and today, we were a bit disappointed, but the Vuelta is still long and our form is excellent, and we still have many opportunities to win".

Pedersen was angry after the finish line, not only because he hadn't won the stage, but because his teammates had worked all day and he couldn't repay them with a victory. The Dane then went to Ciccone to apologize, but for the Abruzzese, it wasn't necessary. "Mads doesn't need to apologize. As I said, this is the race. He is a champion and can win, just as he can lose. We are here to work and, as I said, it's still long and we are in excellent form, so we must take advantage of the next opportunities".