Even an hour after crossing the finish line victorious in stage 15 of the Vuelta a España, Mads Pedersen was still pumping with adrenaline. "It didn't matter who was in the breakaway today, this stage had to be ours," said the Lidl-Trek rider.

On a day when 150 riders start and 50 of them have a chance to compete for victory from the breakaway, as happened in the Monforte de Lemos stage, there are times when one champion is simply too strong for everyone else. And former world champion Pedersen is certainly one of them.

Still without a victory in this Vuelta, when he was expected to have at least a couple already after the four successes obtained in this year's Giro d'Italia, the Dane responded with a curt 'No' and 'I won't be satisfied' when asked if the green jersey would be enough for him without stage victories.

Credit goes to his teammates—Carlos Verona, Julien Bernard, Giulio Ciccone, and Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier—who supported him in the breakaway and helped close the gap with Jay Vine and Louis Vervaeke, who were leading the way with a lead of nearly three minutes.

"The victory is even sweeter considering how the team worked all day," Pedersen commented. "The guys gave everything to make this success possible. Everyone knew our plan, yet we managed to take home the win."

In the final sprint, despite the resistance of Orluis Aular (Movistar), only a rider with the qualities of a Classics rider like Pedersen could maintain such an intense effort. With this victory in his pocket, the Dane will now focus on the 19th stages and the final one in Madrid, where he should consolidate Lidl-Trek's hat trick of points jerseys in the Grand Tours, adding this victory to the Giro and Jonathan Milan's green jersey at the Tour.