Mads Pedersen earns Trek-Segafredo contract extension with excellent Tour of Flanders second place

Mads Pedersen's breakthrough second place at Sunday's Tour of Flanders is already paying dividends as the Danish rider signed a two-year extension to his contract at Trek-Segafredo.

Having signed his first professional contract with the team at the start of the 2017 season, Pedersen has enjoyed an exceptional start to his second season in the pro ranks as he delivered the team's best results in the cobbled Classics.

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The then 21-year-old took an impressive five victories in 2017, but his second place at the Tour of Flanders was certainly his biggest result to date, coming on the back of another strong fifth place at Dwars Door Vlaanderen.

The two-year deal will keep Pedersen at Trek-Segafredo until the end of the 2020 season, with the Dane saying that he was looking forward to continuing his development at the American squad.

Watch: Tour of Flanders 2018 highlights

"I am really thrilled to renew my contract with Trek-Segafredo. I feel at home in this team; the confidence they have put in me has made me grow a lot and I am pretty sure that with Trek-Segafredo I am at the best spot to continue to develop and gain experience, especially in the Classics," Pedersen said.

Trek-Segafredo general manager Luca Guercilena was also understandably happy to have secured the signature of a promising rider who looks destined to take major victories in the future.

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"When we signed Mads last year, we obviously knew that he had a lot of potential, which he has proved during his first season with us by winning five races," Guercilena said.

"Then, this year, he continued on that same course and took it even to a higher level, winning a stage in Australia [at the Herald Sun Tour] and riding a very solid TT at the end of a tough Tirreno-Adriatico.

"To see him perform the way he did this week, and especially taking an absolutely incredible second place in the Ronde van Vlaanderen, exceeded all of our expectations. This is what we hoped for in a few years, and that he’s able to do this now, at the age of 22, predicts a very bright future - a future that we are happy to share with him!"