The 178.7 kilometer long fourth queen stage of 4 Days at Dunkerque between Lestrem and Cassel was dominated by a number of attacks from a distance as well as in the finale. CULT Energy Pro Cycling’s Mads Pedersen delivered another strong effort after support from his team in the early stages of the day.

The young CULT Energy Dane was constantly visible near the front during the intensely thrilling and bumpy finale where attack upon attack threatened to ruin the Dane’s chances of an overall top result. But Pedersen kept closing gaps and staying with the strongest over the hard climbs and all the way to the uphill finish where he distances the overall leader, Bryan Coquard (Europcar).

With his impressive effort, Mads Pedersen climbed from 7t to 6th position overall. After the stage, DS Michael Skelde praised his young talent:

"There's a good reason for Mads to be very proud of his effort today. We knew that he was a fantastic talent and his way to move around in the field is simply exemplary. This year he has become stronger and more fit, which pays off on a lumpy course like today's where we didn't even dare hope for this result beforehand but Mads proved once more that he's got a promising future ahead of him if he keeps up this positive progress. Tomorrow's stage will be a flat run-in to Dunkerque where I expect a bunch sprint finish. However, if the wind picks up, it might have a devasting impact on the field but I'm rather confident that Mads will be in the finale there as well."

Mads Pedersen was happy about retaining a spot in the top-10:

"Starting today's stage, I feared that I would lose my spot in the top-10 but once out there on the course and on the climbs, I felt that the hard training this spring has paid off and I'm moving faster on the slopes without putting more watts into my effort. But naturally, I couldn't have done this without support from teammates in the early part of the stage where they shielded me before the finale. Once the finale was launched, it was just every man for himself. Tomorrow, I hope for at least a top-15 result, which will mean I've in the top-15 in all stages," says Pedersen.

Omar Fraile (Caja Rural) won the stage after going solo on the final kilometer. Ignatas Konovalovas (Team Marseille) leads overall.