"I can win a Monument, if you look purely at the results" - Mads Pedersen looks to turn consistency into wins

Mads Pedersen featured in the fight for the win for several monuments, World and European Championships this year. Adding to his stage wins at the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France, he is confident that he can take the next step.

"I can win a Monument, if you look purely at the results. You have the superstars in cycling and I'm not one of them, but I'm close. On a day when everything goes well, I can also win a Monument and I work hard for that every day," Pedersen told In de Leiderstrui. “I have bad days too. You see them (Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel, ed.) too, but you don't remember them. A week before the World Championships I didn't finish in the Super 8 Classic, so I'm also starting to feel the body and get tired. But with a lot of motivation you can always do well in several competitions."

Pedersen had an early breakthrough in cycling when he won the rainy Yorkshire World Championships back in 2019, however in recent years he has managed to consistently perform as he did on that day. A very strong sprinter, his true power however comes from his climbing ability, good tactics and very good endurance. A true all-rounder, the Dane has found himself as the leader of a committed Lidl-Trek who has also heavily benefited from betting on the classics rider.

Now with 66 days of racing this year, he is one of the riders with the heaviest schedules - taking into consideration that many were one-day races, and up to this day he continues to perform. He is a big favourite for today's Sparkassen Münsterland Giro, and should also be for the upcoming Paris-Bourges. "I don't know how I do it. We train well, we rest well and we race enough. We made that plan in the winter and we stuck to it. My form is good, otherwise I wouldn't be here," he said this morning at the start of the German classic.