“Cycling has completely changed… Now you eat like a mother all day long” – Mads Pedersen says modern peloton barely resembles the sport he joined
Cycling
When Mads Pedersen turned professional in 2015, cycling was already a demanding, data-driven sport. A decade on, the Dane barely recognises the world he stepped into.
Speaking at Lidl-Trek’s recent media day, Pedersen offered a blunt assessment of how radically the sport has evolved, particularly in its obsession with detail, nutrition and control. What was once a discipline built around hard training and instinct, he argues, has become an environment where almost nothing is left to chance.
“Even from when I first became a professional, cycling has completely changed,” Pedersen explained in quotes collected by Ekstra Bladet. “When you wanted to lose weight back then, you just went out training, had a bit of water on the bike, an energy bar, maybe a banana and a coffee halfway round, and that was it. You were ready. Now you eat like a motherfucker all day long.”
The comment was delivered with a smile, but the message behind it was serious. For Pedersen, the modern peloton demands a level of commitment that few outside the sport truly understand.
“Cycling is completely different now,” he said. “You have to be so focused and so serious. I never expected that, that’s for sure. But you grow into it. You accept it. If you want to stay in the sport, you have to do it. If you don’t want to do it, then you have to find something else to do.”
Growing up before the data-explosion
Pedersen’s career has straddled two eras. He learned his trade before nutrition plans were timed to the gram and before every training interval, sleep cycle and aerodynamic position was relentlessly monitored.
Asked whether he is glad he did not grow up in the sport under today’s hyper-scientific conditions, the 30-year-old was reflective rather than nostalgic.
“To be honest, I don’t really think about it that much,” he said. “I’m happy with the situation I’m in now. I’m happy with the experiences I’ve had from what it feels strange to call old cycling. I’m happy to have been part of that journey.”
Rather than resisting change, Pedersen sees himself as someone who has adapted alongside the sport, learning to operate within an increasingly controlled environment while still drawing on instincts developed earlier in his career.
“I’m also curious to see where we end up before I stop racing,” he added. “It’s exciting to see how everything develops. Right now, everything is moving incredibly fast. Technology is going crazy in every area of life, so of course it’s the same in cycling.”
What Pedersen describes is not nostalgia, nor criticism, but reality. The sport he entered just over a decade ago no longer exists in the same form, replaced by an environment where precision, control and constant optimisation are non-negotiable.
For today’s peloton, that shift is simply the baseline. For riders who have lived through it, the transformation has been total and, as Pedersen makes clear, it is still accelerating.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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