"I'm thinking 'what the hell is that?'" - Teammate reveals Mads Pedersen is back to training early ahead of cobbled classics

It was on the 4th of February that Mads Pedersen crashed at the Volta a Comunitat Valenciana, his first race day of the season, which ended with a fractured wrist and collarbone. For some time, it seemed as if the spring classics themselves were at risk, as the Dane faced several weeks off the bike. However, he surprised some of his teammates this week in Mallorca as he returned to the bike earlier than anticipated.

This is not a rumour, as the former World Champion has been spotted by amateur riders in the area, who confirm Lidl-Trek's Mathias Norsgaard's words that explain how his compatriot has joined him in the Spanish Island. "A couple of days ago, I see him in the evening, and he's standing there," Norsgaard shared in the Forhjulslir podcast with Eurosport journalist Anders Mielke.

"He has to squeeze an orange – I don't know if it's part of his training or what – and I just see he's writhing in pain and it hurts so damn much. Of course it does. It's less than two weeks since he crashed, right?".

Pedersen suffered a fractured collarbone, however it was his wrist that caused serious concern, as it doesn't ordinarily allow him to ride on the road in safe conditions - as bike handling is crucial for racing in the peloton; and even more so in the brutally rugged cobbled sectors in which Pedersen is planned to be racing later in the spring.

Whilst it is not a confirmation that Pedersen will race the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, it is a good sign as he still have five and six weeks respectively ahead of the races. The injuries would allow him to ride indoors and not lose much of his fitness, however improving on it would be a major challenge whilst not being allowed to ride outside.

But Pedersen is back to riding outside. Norsgaard shared the amusing moment in which he discovered his teammate was back riding on the road: "I'm out riding. We ride for four hours, and I have to do an extra hour. I'm riding a steep climb out back, then I turn around and I can see some Lidl-Trek rider with a support car. I'm thinking 'what the hell is that?'"

"Then I get closer and I can just see the world champion stripes. And I'm telling you – he isn't riding 300 watts, he's riding at a pace I have trouble keeping up with. And I just thought, 'That's fucking unreal.'"

The 30-year old can on paper take to the start of Milano-Sanremo at the earliest, in the space of just over three weeks. However, much will depend on how his body adapts to the added workload over the coming weeks, more so his wrist than his legs.