Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) came into Wednesday's stage 17 of the Tour de France with a 31-point lead in the battle for the green jersey and he must have been feeling good about his chances when he added 25 to his total by taking first place in the intermediate sprint while Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech) could manage only nine points for seventh place. Pedersen was out front in a six-rider move while Philipsen toiled behind in a large but disorganized chase group.
Less than an hour later, however, the tables turned and Philipsen had pulled to within just seven points of Pedersen's lead.
"This was a proper shit day," Pedersen said with his characteristic bluntness. "It was an expensive day on points, so I'm super disappointed."
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