"Absolutely insane" – Mads Pedersen hails Lidl-Trek's six-stage Giro and points jersey victory

Mads Pedersen was unquestionably one of the standout performers of the 2025 Giro d’Italia, capping off a sensational three-week campaign by sealing the ciclamino points jersey and leading Lidl–Trek to six stage wins, a feat few teams in history can match.

The Dane’s individual tally was remarkable: four stage victories, including three in the opening week, and five days in the maglia rosa before surrendering the race lead on Stage 7's summit finish to Tagliacozzo. He officially wrapped up the points classification on Stage 21, having already secured it mathematically two days earlier.

“We didn't have the time of our lives but we had a really good time,” Pedersen told Cycling News after the final stage in Rome. “We have six stage victories and the ciclamino jersey, it's incredible. Not a lot of teams will ever be able to do this, so for us this is absolutely insane to be able to do it.”

The final tally also included stage wins for Carlos Verona and Daan Hoole, in what proved to be a masterfully executed Grand Tour for Lidl–Trek.

Reflecting on the Giro experience, Pedersen was candid about why he prefers the Italian Grand Tour to the Tour de France, an event he is notably skipping this year in favour of teammate Jonathan Milan.

“I've always liked the races like this, the Giro and the Vuelta,” he said. “The Tour is really stressful and it takes a lot of attention and pressure, not only from ourselves but also from management and sponsors and so on.”

“While here, there's a bit more freedom and you can play around a bit. Okay, we were also lucky, in the first five days we already had three victories and of course that helps to make it more free, to play around and try what we want. But I really enjoy it as well.”

On Stage 21, Pedersen rode conservatively in the sprint finale, happy to avoid unnecessary risk as the race wound down.

“It's one of these days, I was not really willing to risk it to win, but I ended up in a good position in the last corner,” he explained. “To be honest I didn't have the legs to pass Kooij in the sprint or even open the sprint. I just found myself in the wheel and opened the sprint in his wheel and then stayed there until we passed the finish line. In the end, no risk today and I'm here still today with all my skin and that's successful.”

While he won’t be at the Tour de France next month, Pedersen leaves Italy satisfied and proud of both his own results and his team’s collective success.

“I know this is not the Tour, and this is not the pink jersey or anything like that. But with the race we've had I think we can give ourselves a big round of applause and be proud of what we did.”