Mads Pedersen shares how Lidl-Trek convinced him to abandon Tour after time-trial: "They had never seen anything so ugly"

Mads Pedersen suffered a hard crash on stage 5 and has abandoned the Tour de France this morning as a precaution, but also to focus on the Olympic Games. The Lidl-Trek rider stayed in the race for two days after the fall, but tells how worried the team was with his state after the time-trial revealed obvious health issues ongoing.

“We all saw the crash. I hit the barriers with my right shoulder. We immediately had X-rays taken. It wasn’t clear whether there was a fracture or not. Our doctor said there could be a fracture that we wouldn’t be able to see for a week or so, but he said I could continue as long as the pain was bearable," Pedersen explained in words to ITV. “Only the team management were not impressed with my position on the time trial bike yesterday. They had never seen anything so ugly”.

Pedersen sprinted to 15th on Thursday showing he remained competitive, but in the time-trial he had to completely adapt his position to the injuries he had "...It is certainly not completely broken. I also have some muscle damage there. It is swollen and completely blue. That is why we are stopping." The team talked to him after the time-trial and the option was in the end to prematurely end his participation in the race.

“The management, the team leaders and the doctors have spoken to me. They have told me there are more important goals than fighting through the next few days to maybe do two sprints," he continued.

"The Olympics are more important. It is difficult to switch, especially because I have worked hard to be at my best. But now the race is over and I will focus on the Olympics... I can certainly take a week off and then cycle on my own again. Normally nothing can happen on my own. There is still enough time to go to the Olympics in top form.”