"A lot of stress for nothing" - Mads Pedersen sacrifices his and Lidl's winning chances at La Vuelta in echelon attempt
CyclingWednesday, 26 August 2026 at 23:00
The fifth stage of the Vuelta a España saw crosswinds threaten to split the peloton. Lidl-Trek were very active towards the front, but not with their domestiques. Instead it was Mads Pedersen himself doing the work, before getting dropped on a day that looked to suit him perfectly.
Lidl-Trek DS surprised by Pedersen's difficulties
Stage 5 featured a almost pan-flat profile before the final hour of racing, in which there were several climbs that were expected to fracture the peloton - whilst the final 20 kilometers into Roquetes were flat and didn't offer many chances to the non-sprinters.
But early in the day, the flat roads were exposed to, often, crosswinds. Team Visma | Lease a Bike attempted to split up the race but, in several instances, so did Lidl-Trek.
It was Mads Pedersen himself, the day's favourite alongside Matthew Brennan, who took the head of the peloton ahead of Mattias Skjelmose in most of these moments. The team's supprorting riders were not alongside the Danish duo, whilst the echelon attempts eventually stopped.
Once the riders reached the hilly part of the course, a surprising sight was present on screen: Pedersen getting dropped, with the pace not being pushed seriously by any particular team.
"We hadn't discussed the fact that he wouldn't be able to compete," team DS Kim Andersen said in words to TV2. The previous day, the Dane was already critical of his team's lack of ability to support Skjelmose on a day where the podium contender lost time.
On stage 5, the team lost the chance to take a stage win as its leader was dropped ofver the work he did. "All we see is that he did a good job getting Skjelmose onto that climb and that they wanted to try it in the wind, but it didn't work out there. It is possible that he felt it himself. We don't know," he said immediately after the stage.
Mads Pedersen working at the head of a compact peloton
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The attempt to split the peloton in the crosswinds were evident by Lidl-Trek, but in the process, Pedersen was the one to sacrifice himself.
"We wanted echelons to form, but we realized pretty quickly that nothing was wrong," Skjelmose himself said. "Mads tried a few times, but we couldn't get it to split up."
The move came at a cost. Pedersen also did not fight for the intermediate sprint, effectively confirming the lack of ambition to reaffirm a green jersey conquered 12 months ago.
"It was a tough day. A lot of stress for nothing, but it was okay," Skjelmose, who remains eighth in the overall classification, added.
"We got through it well. I'd rather do my best if it doesn't work out, than save it for the case it does. Then you belong to the last group".
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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