OPINION | Who has had a better career so far: Wout van Aert vs Mads Pedersen
CyclingTuesday, 13 May 2025 at 09:30
Ok, we can hear the anger from the Van Aert fans already
after they’ve clicked on this article. But give us a moment. Yes, we’re here to
have a debate, not dismiss greatness.
Some will view the timing of this question as reactionary.
And maybe that’s fair. Mads Pedersen is currently enjoying a brilliant start to
the 2025 Giro d’Italia, while Wout van Aert is enduring one of the most
disappointing weeks of his road career. But when you’re talking about two of
the most complete riders of their generation, even temporary form can invite
deeper reflection.
So, who has had the better career to date? If you had asked
this question even a few weeks, the obvious answer would be Wout van Aert. In
fact, that is still the obvious answer. But somehow, 2025 appears to be the
year Mads Pedersen shows everyone just how good he is. And is he overtaking Wout
van Aert?
Let’s dive in.
Giro d’Italia so far
It’s hard to ignore the stark contrast in fortunes over the
opening stages of this year’s Giro. Pedersen has exploded out of the blocks.
Van Aert has looked… off.
On stage 1, it was the Dane who surged into pink, narrowly
beating Van Aert to take the Maglia Rosa on the opening day. On paper, it was a
perfect start for both: two elite riders, heads and shoulders above the rest in
the final drag race. But the momentum has since split.
Is this the best version of Pedersen we've ever seen?
The following day’s time trial seemed made for Van Aert. It
was short and punchy, one that, in normal condition, he could dominate. But he
faded to 34th, 39 seconds down on Joshua Tarling. The Belgian himself admitted
it was a disaster. And by stage 3, things turned from bad to baffling.
As Mads Pedersen surged to another win and reclaimed the
race lead from Primoz Roglic, Van Aert was nowhere to be seen, finishing a
staggering 142nd, almost 16 minutes down. “I felt pretty quickly that it wasn’t
going to be my day,” he told the Belgian media afterwards. “You don’t get
dropped for fun. I decided just to survive the day.”
Three days in, Pedersen is riding like a man possessed,
while Van Aert looks like a shadow of his former self.
Form vs Legacy
Now, it’s important not to get swept up in the moment. Van
Aert’s current struggles deserve context, and we all know that his 2024 season
was ravaged by misfortune. A brutal crash at Dwars door Vlaanderen, another at
the Vuelta a España, and lingering knee issues have hampered his preparation
for 2025. In recent weeks, he’s also been battling illness.
This spring, Van Aert collected a frustrating string of
near-misses: fourth at the Tour of Flanders, fourth at Paris-Roubaix, fourth
again at Amstel Gold. Two second places at Dwars door Vlaanderen and Brabantse
Pijl showed that he was getting better, but not at his best.
In that light, it’s perhaps no surprise that he’s struggling
to light up the Giro.
Pedersen didn’t exactly conquer the Spring Classics either,
although he did appear to be in fine form. Like Van Aert, he too endured a
near-miss campaign, podiums at Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders, but no
monument for his palmares just yet. And it’s worth remembering why: this is the
era of Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogacar. It takes more than brilliance to
win right now; it takes generational greatness.
But unlike Van Aert, Pedersen’s Giro suggests his peak is
still ahead of him. He’s not just sprinting with authority, but climbing with
poise, a blend that has long been associated with Van Aert, not the Dane. It’s
tempting to ask if Pedersen is now inheriting the “super all-rounder” label.
Let’s talk palmares
So, put the formbook aside. Who has had the better career?
Statistically, it’s remarkably close. According to
ProCyclingStats, Pedersen has 52 professional victories, Van Aert 49. Pedersen
has been in the pro peloton since 2013, Van Aert since 2015. So while Pedersen
has more wins, Van Aert has done it in slightly less time.
But what do the numbers say about the quality of those wins?
Van Aert:
- Monument wins: 1 (Milano-Sanremo, 2020)
- Tour de France stage wins: 9
- Vuelta a España stage wins: 3
- World Championship Road Race medals: 2 silvers
Wout van Aert is usually at his best at the Tour de France
Pedersen:
- Monument wins: 0
- Tour de France stage wins: 2
- Giro d’Italia stage wins: 3 (including 2 already in 2025)
- Vuelta a España stage wins: 3
- World Champion: Yes, in 2019
Van Aert’s versatility is legendary. He’s the only rider in
recent memory to win a mountain stage, sprint stage, and time trial all in the
same Tour de France, as he did in 2021. That year alone, he won on Mont
Ventoux, in a final sprint on the Champs-Élysées, and against the clock in a
brutal TT.
Few riders in history, let alone his generation, can boast
that.
But Pedersen has his own claim to immortality. He won the
2019 World Championships in Yorkshire in horrendous conditions, becoming
Denmark’s first elite men’s road race world champion. A rainbow jersey is one
of the rarest and most prestigious jerseys in cycling, and one Van Aert has
desperately chased for years. No one can ever take that away.
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Van Aert has come agonisingly close (twice second in the
World Championships) but never quite claimed the rainbow bands.
So which matters more: Van Aert’s monument win and Tour de
France highlights? Or Pedersen’s world title and consistent presence across all
three Grand Tours?
The intangibles
Of course, greatness isn’t just numbers. It’s also about
impact, presence, versatility.
Van Aert is, at his peak, arguably the most versatile
cyclist of his generation. He has beaten the best in mountain finishes,
dominated time trials, outsprinted pure fastmen, and been a key domestique in
Tour-winning teams. His role in Jonas Vingegaard’s success at the Tour cannot
be overstated, he’s a luxury teammate and a stage hunter all in one.
Pedersen doesn’t quite have that same range, but what he
does offer is unrelenting tenacity and clarity of purpose. He knows what kind
of rider he is, powerful, fast, relentless, and he rarely wastes a race day.
His sprint finishes are among the most technically sound in the peloton, and
his ability to survive lumpy stages gives him options others simply don’t have.
Pedersen also seems to be evolving. This year’s Giro
performances show a more complete rider: stronger on the climbs, able to
dictate in varied terrain. It’s the kind of development that suggests his prime
years are still unfolding.
Van Aert, on the other hand, feels like a rider wrestling
with a crossroads. Still elite, but burdened by expectations, injuries, and the
sheer weight of being Wout van Aert.
Verdict?
So, who has had the better career so far?
If you value peak performance, versatility, and impact on
the biggest races, the edge goes to Van Aert. His 2021 and 2022 Tour de France
campaigns alone are the stuff of legend. Add a monument, a slew of Tour wins,
and you’ve got a palmarès most riders would dream of.
If you value consistency, longevity, and major titles,
Pedersen’s case is just as strong. A world title, Grand Tour stage wins in all
three races, and the kind of steady progression that suggests his best may
still be to come.
And as of today? Pedersen is flying. Van Aert is faltering. But
cycling careers are marathons, not sprints, and neither are done just yet
In truth, both have built exceptional résumés, and both
still have time to add to them. Perhaps the more accurate headline isn’t who’s
had the better career, but which one are we underappreciating? Because in the
era of Pogacar, Van der Poel, and Evenepoel, it’s easy to overlook just how
brilliant both Wout van Aert and Mads Pedersen truly are. And that’s the real
shame.
Following on from that, I will end this opinion question not
by answering the question, but by asking a new one… or two.
If Wout van Aert had Pedersen’s palmares, would he still be
hounded in the Belgian press? Maybe, maybe not, but you would think a world
title would make up for Van Aert’s lack of cobbled monument success.
And then my second question, would Van Aert have won more
had it not been from the media pressure? For years, the Van der Poel vs Van Aert
rivalry dominated cycling headlines, but that debate has seemingly put to bed
in recent years with Mathieu van der Poel reaching heights we may never have
seen before.
Whilst Pedersen has been subject to media pressure, he was
never in the limelight the same way as Van der Poel and Van Aert. Has that
allowed him to develop into the complete rider we are seeing today, away from
the blinding lights of the media?
Let us know your thoughts below. This is not a question that
should inspire hatred from one fan base to the other, and instead we should
continue to enjoy two truly special riders.
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