Not often do pro riders offer an insight into their personality, but in a recent interview Mads Pedersen has discussed his very high ego, financial situation and questioning over his World Championships win, aswell as comparing himself to the likes of Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel.
“I don’t give a fuck. I’m just me, I love what I am doing and I want to win because it feels right for me. That’s what I want," Pedersen said in an interview with Rouleur. "I had that question 200 million times because people didn’t think I deserved to have that jersey (rainbow jersey in 2020, ed.), but in the end I will fucking have the stripes on my sleeve for the rest of my life, and a lot of guys are fighting their whole career for that but won’t get it."
The peloton can be a ruthless place, and the Trek - Segafredo has become a ruthless rider, having to prove his qualities only to himself, something which he has succeeded in 2022 as he conquered a stage at the Tour de France, before winning three and the points classification at the Volta a Espana - amongst several wins earlier in the year.
“I’m not racing to prove anything to anyone else. I don’t believe I have to prove shit to anyone. I am not racing my bike so you can have a better interview. I am racing my bike to make myself happy," he stated. "I like the crazy things, when I put the barriers super high, because, fuck me, when I achieve it it’s pretty nice."
Asked about similar riders to him, Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert more specifically, he responds: “They are the biggest stars in cycling right now. And I truly believe I am just below them. 100%. But I know I can beat them. I have shown it already. More than once.”
They will be some of the main favourites to win the World Championships in Glasgow this coming year, however so is the Dane. “When I look at the jersey, it just makes me proud of myself and makes me realize what is actually possible to achieve. It’s proved it can happen again. I’m already thinking about having another one underneath," he says of his rainbow jersey.
“The ego of a cyclist, and especially me, is super high. But I can’t run away from it. I think you also need it to be at the top. You have to beat me before anyone else. It’s simple. I believe it has also taken me this far in cycling," he explains.
After success at the Tour and Vuelta, Pedersen will race another two consecutive Grand Tours, as he is set to ride the Giro d'Italia in search of stages and the points classification. He talks of the ambition to conquer the points classifications in all Grand Tours. “If I could win all three jerseys, it would be something special. That’s my ego speaking: when my career is over, it’d be nice to have the purple and the two greens."
Seeing the level in which the Dane has shown himself this year makes it a viable possibility that he will take another in 2023, however both at the Giro and Tour there will be tough competition.
Asked however if he can take the green jersey into Paris in the summer, Pedersen responds that it "is possible. The course has to be perfect for me and maybe I’d need a guy like Wout to have some bad luck or be locked into another role on a team, but it’s not impossible. I truly believe it’s possible," he concluded.
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