Despite tough climbs, Mads Pedersen not confident bunch sprint can be avoided: "Even with 40 degrees Celsius it would be a sprint"
Cycling
Mads Pedersen is one of the sprinters who can climb the best in the peloton and at the ongoing Giro d'Italia. This would mean Trek-Segafredo would be a big fan of the hilly stage 5, however the Dane is not keen on trying to put on the hurt in rival sprinters.
"'Even with 40 degrees Celsius it would be a sprint. Everyone can handle the bike, even in the rain. It's no use trying," Pedersen said at the start of the day, an unusually negative statement from a rider who could benefit from the day. In search of the points classification the Dane has not had the best start, missing out on the sprint on stage 2 due to the late crash, and finishing second close to the win on stage 3.
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With several hilly days Pedersen likely remains the biggest favourite for Ciclamino. With 2600 meters of climbing and two difficult ascents many of the pure sprinters could well face difficulties on the day however the Dane's speech hints that Trek won't try to limit his competition.
Kaden Groves, Fernando Gaviria and Jonathan Milan start the day as favourites however if the pace is pushed in the tough day under heavy rain the likes of Michael Matthews and Pedersen could quickly become big favourites for the day.
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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.
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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)...
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- exactly, he had an amazing season, but with these overstatements they don‘t do him good.Ketterechts08-11-2026
- More to the point, it isn't his remaining goal.Renz08-11-2026
- lol yeahmij08-11-2026
- I know, their headlines can be so misleading. Pidcock had a great season with 5 wins. and some solid 2nds. no reason to take away from that with a fake headline.mij08-11-2026
- You can clearly see the the posture change from slightly sitting to again out of the saddle while changing of gears in the video of the sprintabstractengineer08-11-2026
- He has already beaten Pogi twice in the TDF. the achievement is over. He cannot beat Pogi now and he only has a few years left at the top. Win Giro and compete in the TDF, maximise palmares.abstractengineer08-11-2026
- Just looked again at the photo. Yeah I stand by that. If MS had fallen over in Brands direction I don’t even think she would have hit her. You must be a UCI race commissioner. I’ll be sure to check my sock height should I ever see you on a ride. Looks like everyone else on here sees what I see.mij08-11-2026
- I said looking at the photo it doesn’t appear she deviated. Chill out, not stating my word is the final judgement. Just commenting that based on the photo I don’t see it. And BTW the Dutch coach even said she didn’t impede her.mij08-11-2026
- Blah Blah Blah !frieders308-11-2026
- MS said she was changing gears so that caused her slight deviation. Nothing was intentional.frieders308-11-2026
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Rain, rain and again rain ☔️ Stage 5 of #Giro, from Atripalda to Salerno, has just started 👊
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