Mads Pedersen crashes out of Volta a Comunitat Valenciana as Lidl-Trek worry about spring campaign

Bad news have hit the Lidl-Trek camp. Mads Pedersen has crashed towards the end of stage 1 at the Volta a Comunitat Valenciana. This has forced him to abandon the race and might put into jeopardy his preparation towards the spring campaign, with only two months left to the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.

Pedersen typically begins his season at Etoile de Bessèges or in a different race in France, however after last year's safety issues, Lidl-Trek decided not to step foot in the French race. Instead, the Dane decided to race for the first time this year close to where the team trains during the winter, in the Comunitat Valenciana.

Going into stage 1, he was the main favourite to take the win, being the biggest name in the sprinter field to contest for this stage. Hence, it came as a surprise to note his absence in the peloton towards the end of the opening stage, whilst sprinters such as Biniam Girmay and Arne Marit - first and second on the day - made it through. Mathias Vacek was representing the German team, however Pedersen was nowhere to be seen.

The team has now confirmed Pedersen did not reach the finish line, after suffering a crash in a 'key point' of the stage. More updates will be provided soon, however it will force him to miss important racing and potentially take some time off the bike.

With Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogacar remaining healthy throughout the winter, this may further increase the gap between the two and the rest of the peloton, as over the past year Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel and Wout van Aert have all been victims of serious injuries.

"Not how anyone would want to see Mads Pedersen start his 2026 season! A crash heading into the key point of the Volta a Comunitat Valenciana stage 1 saw Mads forced to abandon the race. We will provide another update when we know more!"