"He is working himself to death" - Lidl-Trek assure Mads Pedersen is doing his best to be at the cobbled classics

It's been month and a half since Mads Pedersen suffered a fractured collarbone and wrist in a crash at the Volta a Comunitat Valenciana, and he is not yet back to racing. The hope is that he is able to recover in time for the cobbled classics, both health wise and in terms of being able to have good form.

"He is doing what he can. In any case, he is working himself to death,” team DS Kim Andersen shared in an interview with Sporza. "It is difficult to say when he will return. The only thing I can say is that he is working incredibly hard to return as soon as possible.”

The injuries from the fall were bad and put the Dane in the sidelines for an unknown amount of time. Whilst he returned to the bike earlier than expected in a training camp in Mallorca, it certainly wasn't a small injury that would allow him to resume unrestricted training within a short amount of time.

Pedersen, the defending champion at Gent-Wevelgem, could still on paper race the E3 Saxo Classic where the German team hopes he can return to competition; the newly-named Middelkerke-Wevelgem, and Dwars door Vlaanderen before the cobbled monuments. Milano-Sanremo is ruled out, whilst the remaining spring classics may be a challenge due to the specificity of his injury - these races are very demanding on the arms, and are in no way ideal for a rider recovering from a fractured wrist.

One thing can be assured, which is that if his body allows him to, he will be present in those races. “We are trying to make it to the Flemish races; that is in the back of his mind. He can't do more than what he is doing now. We hope to be able to race in Belgium. He makes a very good impression and is very motivated.”