Søjbert Pedersen bosses final sprint as Wout Van Aert captures the fourth stage race title of his career.
Wout van Aert won three stages plus the overall in the PostNord Tour of Denmark (Photo: Henning Bagger / Ritzau Scanpix / AFP) (Photo: HENNING BAGGER)
Updated August 2, 2026 08:41AM
Wout van Aert escaped carnage at the end of the PostNord Tour of Denmark Sunday, with a cluster of riders left lying on the ground when things went awry in the finishing sprint.
A rider from the Modern American Pro Cycling team appeared to be one of the first to fall, with several others coming down and blocking much of the bunch. One bike was catapulted upwards and into spectators were standing before falling back onto the road.
Lidl-Trek were putting in a very strong leadout for Max Walscheid but he had to accept second place after Rasmus Søjbert Pedersen took the win. He normally competes with Decathlon CMA GGM but was guesting with the Danish national team for the race.
Team Flanders – Baloise rider Tom Crabbe was third, with US rider Riley Sheehan (NSN Cycling Team) fifth and overnight leader Van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) 11th. He had been on Perdersen’s wheel inside the final 200 meters but Sheehan drifted right towards the barriers and Van Aert had to back off.
“I was disappointed that I was blocked in,” he said, according to HLN. “I wanted to race for a result, but I’m especially happy that I arrived in one piece.
“This final victory means something. I can’t compete very often for the general classification, so I’m happy to experience that again.”
Van Aert can be very encouraged by what was a phenomenal week. He won the opening three stages, then finished in the main bunch close to the victorious breakaway on Saturday’s stage.
The Visma – Lease a Bike rider ended the 2.Pro race 21 seconds clear of Lukáš Kubiš (Unibet Rose Rockets) and 28 seconds in front of Henrik Pedersen (Uno-X Mobility), taking the Tour of Denmark GC for the second time in his career.
He also dominated the points competition, and got a huge boost to his morale after missing the Tour de France due to injury.
“The legs are good, so I can go with confidence to the next races,” said Van Aert.
He is expected to start the Vuelta a España on August 22 and with Visma teammate Jonas Vingegaard likely to miss the race after fracturing his collarbone in the Tour, the Belgian may have ample opportunities to chase stage wins.