“I think they should shut their mouths” – Fired-up Mads Pedersen slams those who doubt his readiness to take on Pogacar & Van der Poel in 2026 Classics

Mads Pedersen is not interested in playing down expectations ahead of the 2026 Classics. After a 2025 season that repeatedly put him head to head with Tadej Pogacar, Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert, the Lidl-Trek leader believes the idea that those riders are untouchable no longer holds up.

The Dane’s campaign placed him firmly among cycling’s elite. Across the spring Classics, he lined up against the sport’s dominant figures six times, winning Gent-Wevelgem and stepping onto the podium at the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix and the E3 Saxo Classic. Later in the year, he turned the Giro d Italia into his personal playground, winning four stages and securing the maglia ciclamino in Rome.

For Pedersen, that body of work answers questions about where he belongs. “It’s simple. I don’t have to argue with them, they have their opinions, I have my opinions,” he says in conversation with TNT Sports. “I have shown that it’s possible to beat Mathieu. Today is a different story, but he is a star of cycling. Not only in this generation, but I would say forever.”

Pedersen is direct about the effort required to challenge the sport’s biggest names. “Believe me, I try to find this last 1% to beat these guys,” he said. “I’m the guy who’s working my ass off every day.”

That frustration surfaces when his status is questioned. “So everyone that’s arguing against that I’m on the same level as these guys, to be honest, I think they should shut their mouths and try to work the same amount of hours that I do on the bike,” Pedersen said. “Because I’m the one who wants to beat them more than these people want to do.”

Much of that belief was reinforced during a dominant Giro d Italia. Pedersen won four stages, briefly wore the maglia rosa and consistently imposed himself in the toughest sprint finishes of the race.

“The confidence comes from when I start a race,” he explained. “I have done everything in my power to be the best version of myself, and when I have done, I believe that I can win the bike race.”

That confidence does not fade when the start list is stacked. “I also believe that when I start against Mathieu, Wout van Aert, Tadej, and all the others like Ganna, all the other strong riders,” he said. “When I have done everything to perfection, I can beat these guys.”

Pedersen accepts the reality of talent gaps, but not inevitability. “I’m fully aware that some of them are bigger and more talented riders than me,” he said. “It doesn’t mean they’re unbeatable. I have shown that before, and hopefully I can keep showing it.”

Lidl-Trek have already confirmed that Pedersen will return to the Tour de France in 2026 after sitting out this year’s race. His role is clearly defined: chase stage wins and mount a full-scale assault on the green jersey, while Juan Ayuso targets the overall classification.

“The Classics, it’s a given I will do the Classics,” Pedersen said. “And after that I will do the Tour.”

His long-term ambitions leave little room for ambiguity. “The goal for me and the rest of my career is to win a Monument and the green jersey in the Tour,” he said. “Next year that will be the main goal, to win in the Classics and win the green jersey in the Tour.”

Pedersen will share leadership responsibilities with Jonathan Milan, who claimed the green jersey this year while the Dane was absent. He dismissed any suggestion of rivalry. “We get on really well,” he said. “At the end of the day we are racing 75 race days, and we can count two to three races a year where we have to be there together and it can clash.”

Pedersen is pragmatic when hierarchy matters. “If it comes down to a sprint and Johnny is there and we’re sprinting for the win, I’m also not stupid,” he said. “I know Jonny is faster than me.”

That realism extends to team strategy. “The fact that I want to win a Monument doesn’t keep my ego in a position where I would say I’ll never do a lead-out for Johnny,” Pedersen said. “I’m smart enough and can see he has a higher chance of winning a race than me.”

As the 2026 Classics approach, Pedersen’s stance is clear. He respects cycling’s dominant figures, but he no longer accepts the idea that they cannot be beaten. “It’s tough in cycling right now,” he said. “But I’m the one who wants to beat them.”