Mads Pedersen knows who are the men to watch at Milano-Sanremo: "It was incredible what Mathieu did and also the attacks from Pogacar"
Cycling
Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogacar are the main stars of Milano-Sanremo, but Mads Pedersen is not far behind. The leader of Lidl-Trek can win his first monument here realistically and knows exactly what he has to do.
“I think it suits me better now than it did some years ago, for sure. But yeah, we saw in the last couple of years that the attacks are also hard to follow, especially last year, it was incredible what Mathieu did and also the attacks from Pogačar," Pedersen said in a pre-race press conference. "So it suits me better definitely than it would have done some years ago, but it's still not easy, you still have to follow some pretty strong riders to make the attacks.”
UAE Team Emirates are having a very strong lineup and virtually all teams know they have to follow the pace when it will go up on both Cipressa and the Poggio. Pedersen is no exception; it is very likely that the scenario will be almost identical to last year, but it will be necessary to have the legs when eventually attacks soar off the front in the final climb of the day.
“I don't see a big group coming in, hopefully a smaller group with me and a teammate in. That's the dream scenario for me. In the past, Sanremo was called the sprinters' classic. But you know, cycling has changed and also the Classics have changed, when a guy like Pogačar shows up, now the climbers can do cobblestones as well," he continues. "It's definitely not a sprinters' classic anymore, and I don't think for the next many years we will see a big bunch sprinting in Sanremo.”
If that were to happen, Pedersen - as a sprinter and endurance specialist - could absolutely thrive and win. Last season he was there all throughout the year in the top races but in La Primavera he has also finished sixth in his two participations.
“To be honest, I didn't do any focused preparation for that last part. I just blew the engine last year on the Poggio. I don't know exactly if it would help me to train specifically for that attack Mathieu or Pogi would come with, so I just try to be in general better and hopefully that's enough to follow them if they do the same again," he concluded.
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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.
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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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- It doesnt take a genius to understand that Pogi is 1 level above and Pogi is younger that Jonas, so Jonas will not win under ordinary circumstances. Pogi has to crack hard for Jonas to win. It doesn't matter whether you defend Jonas or not , facts remain facts. Jonas himself says his numbers are better than 2022/2023, so Jonas is more or less optimized and we are just see the stochastic variation due to other factors. I think he will retire along with Pedersen in WC denmarkabstractengineer13-11-2026
- They only raced each other during the 2026 Tour, but here's a few metrics to look at. Stage 3 (Granollers to Les Angles): Pogačar won the stage, finishing 2 seconds ahead of Vingegaard (2nd). Del Toro finished 24 seconds behind Stage 6 (Pau to Gavarnie-Gedre / Col du Tourmalet): Pogačar won solo, Vingegaard finished 2nd (losing 2:38), and Del Toro finished 3rd (at +2:57, finishing 19 seconds behind Vingegaard). Here, Jonas Vingegaard outclimbed Isaac del Toro by 19 seconds on the mountain stageawp13-11-2026
- your clinging to the past. Jonas was dropped by del toro many times last year and jonas never managed a climbing numers del toro did in dauphine last year -entire year. Trend is also evident theres no discussion your living in the past, its beent he same with jonas for many years now and only developing, meanwhile del toro is rising and developing greatly. This is all obvious stuff and im not even a del toro fan. No point discussing numbers or this i suspect you dont watch much now but rather think its 2022 still cause this aint hard.miguel13-11-2026
- We can go through metrics if you like, Del Toro, who I do admire and support, is not on the same level as Jonas just yet. You will see that in early 2027 if they have any crossover races. I do hope they both race the Giro. You are correct though, Jonas is getting older and will not be able to hand on much longer. I see 2027 as a good year for him. Obviously behind Tadej though.awp13-11-2026
- What wins? Are you LA operating under a pseudonym?mij13-11-2026
- My point is this - Tadej, Remco, Seixas are all the outliers. Many riders don’t hit their peak until 28. It’s way too early to write him off. And the pogi slo guy that hates him - he’s also immature. Ayuso needs time.mij13-11-2026
- Then you need to use ur eyes or head if you have cause del toro already dropped jonas two times and beat him in tdf stages already this year.. Del toro climbed(dauphine) better numbers than jonas did all year too. So ur feelings and wishful thinking doesnt amtter del toro himself has already surpassed jonas infact just facts. Its also very evident for anyone objective that Jonas is declining alot, its just the truth and super obvious.miguel13-11-2026
- None of those victories stand, so there's that,wrsty13-11-2026
- No surprise there; it is British Sycling, yes, with an S
Rafionain-Glas12-11-2026 - I like Del Toro but he's not on the level of Jonas, by a large margin.awp12-11-2026
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❗️Roster update for #MilanoSanremo ❗️ El Tractor @Tim_Declercq has to skip the Classicissima because he's sick 🤒; @SunJjak will replace him
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