19/12/2023

"I would be more than proud to help him to be on the podium in Paris" - Mads Pedersen willing to help Tao Geoghegan Hart's Tour de France ambition

Mads Pedersen has talked about his ambitions for the 2024 season, they include the cobbled classics, Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana. However in France, he's looking forward to teaming up with Tao Geoghegan Hart and may help his GC ambitions as well.

“To be honest, I really enjoy having teams where we can go for the sprints and also have climbers. I believe, because it's eight riders, I need two lead-out guys and then we need a guy to pull. Then he has three climbers to help him and himself then we’re eight guys," Pedersen told Cyclingnews. "The guy who's pulling, he's helping both of us. And on the mountain days, he can also count on the guys who are helping me you know, say it’s [Alex] Kirsch, {Ryan] Gibbons and me.”

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Whilst the Dane is very well suited to chasing the green jersey, if Jasper Philipsen's form next year is as good as 2023 it will be hard to top him there. Stage wins will likely be the priority, as was he case this summer - with the team also chasing, with success, the KOM jersey with Giulio Ciccone. Pedersen does not mind sharing leadership with a climber, specially one he knows well.

“I'm fine with helping him and, let's say not getting it back in that race because I know as a GC guy, he's not taking turns in a leadout. I'm 100% fine with that and I would be more than proud to help him to be on the podium in Paris," Pedersen says. "We have the same agent and they really didn't want to tell me, but I got it out of him quite early."

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Hart will aim for the Tour after in 2023 getting his best legs back. His season ended prematurely with a crash and pelvis fracture at the Giro d'Italia, however he says that he has fully recovered from it. The Briton is one of Lidl-Trek's many quality signings, and will be teaming up with Pedersen, who is eager for the new challenges the team takes on following a transition period.

“It’s huge for the team to get a Grand Tour GC winner. I can't remember who was the last one here. Nibali okay but that was, without being an ass - Tao is on the up and in a different different place in his career. It's super nice especially because we are friends and we know each other it makes it even cooler," he concuded.