"I open my mouth again and start gasping for air" - Mads Pedersen on the struggles of returning from cycling off-season
Cycling
Mads Pedersen has spoken about the difficulties of returning to form during the winter. The Danish rider, carrying some extra weight and out of form, has revealed that he has a psychological barrier during his first days back on the bike.
After the road cycling season is over, for most riders in October, it is frequent for even the world's best to take three weeks off the bike, or more. That is so as to recover physically, but above all psychologically.
Most get back on the bike in November at some point, ahead of the December training camps. Mads Pedersen found himself recently in that phase of the year, one which he was not too pleased with.
"It was hard. Your heart rate is just really high. You've put on a bit of weight, so you need to lose some weight and start cycling again," Pedersen said on the Lang Distance podcast.
"When you're in shape, you can ride for two hours with a bit of sugar in your bottle and everything is fine. I make the same mistake every year. The first three or four rides, I completely blow up," he admits.
Mads Pedersen has already experienced a rocky 2026 winter
Pedersen jokes on his difficulties
A resident in Monaco, Pedersen has no choice but to climb throughout his training rides. "The problem is that down here, I start by going uphill. I can't ride at 220 watts. Just to keep a bit of speed on the bike, I'm doing 250 to 270 watts".
Not only is he having to put out more watts due to his weight, but his lack of form means he is quickly reaching a high level of effort. He joked that he does not intend on being overtaken by amateur riders out during training.
"I'd rather ride with a heart rate of 170," he laughed. "I'm sitting there gasping for air, but as soon as I pass them, I close my mouth, shift into an easier gear and just pedal at a higher cadence,".
"Then, as soon as I get around the next corner, I open my mouth again and start gasping for air".
Mads Pedersen non-understanding of Marie Schreiber's relegation
The Dane also shared his thoughts on the cyclocross European Championships that took place within the past weekend, in which his teammate (in the women's structure) Lucinda Brand took the victory.
“My take is that I’ve seen worse things in cyclocross," he said of Marie Schreiber's relegation. The Luxembourger lost her victory due to an irregular sprint, although there was almost unanimous consensus that the decision wasn't taken correctly.
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“But imagine how awful it is for the person who wins—and how awful it is for Lucinda to find out afterward that you won that way," he added.
"It’s pretty intense. I didn’t even know there were rules in cyclocross. I just thought it was a matter of: ‘Go, three, two, one, ride.’ It’s like a street fight, a kind of underground brawl. It’s the MMA of cycling," he concluded.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
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.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
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)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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