"Pedersen is a special rider” – Are we witnessing Mads Pedersen’s finest moment?

Cycling
Monday, 12 May 2025 at 05:00
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Three stages into the 2025 Giro d’Italia, and Mads Pedersen is already asserting himself as the standout riders of the race. With two victories from the opening three days, the Danish Lidl–Trek rider reclaimed the maglia rosa on Sunday and now appears to be in the form of his life.
Following his stage 3 triumph, Pedersen not only took back the overall lead but also stretched his advantage in the points classification, a key target for the former world champion. His commanding performances have caught the attention of analysts and fans alike, including Eurosport’s Bobbie Traksel and Jip van den Bos.
"He is slowly starting to have a street length lead in the points classification, that is of course his biggest goal. In that respect, things are going in the right direction," said Traksel.
So far, Pedersen has looked untouchable in the sprints, and with few GC threats lurking in the current top ten, there appears to be little danger to his grip on the pink jersey in the immediate stages to come.
"There is still so much more to come for Pedersen, there is no real danger for the pink at the moment. If you look at the top ten of the classification, you don't see any riders who will take bonus seconds away from him in the sprints," Traksel continued.
It’s a sharp turnaround from pre-race discussions, which focused heavily on whether Wout van Aert, now chasing form, could hold pink into the second week. That narrative, according to Traksel, has quickly shifted.
"Where we talked before the Giro about whether Wout van Aert could keep the pink jersey until stage sixteen, we are now going to have that conversation about this Mads Pedersen."
Jip van den Bos echoed the sentiment. "We can't ignore him," she said. "With two stage wins and a super good time trial, it can't be otherwise. But others at Lidl–Trek also stand out. For example, Daan Hoole, who did so much work for his team this weekend."
Indeed, it’s not just Pedersen making headlines. Lidl–Trek’s collective strength has played a key role in their early success. Traksel and Van den Bos both praised the support around Pedersen, highlighting the role of several teammates in delivering results.
"And also with Ciccone and Vacek in the final, and Konrad and Verona who did a beastly job for Pedersen. He will finish it himself and is therefore the man who deserves the pink."
Beyond performance, Pedersen continues to defy convention with his preparation methods. "Pedersen is a special rider," Traksel added. "For example, he never goes on altitude training, because he doesn't believe in it. He just wants to ride a lot of races to race as much as possible."
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2 Comments
FredMan 13 May 2025 at 11:11+ 145

I wonder if Mads' resurgence has something to do with Lidl-Trek electing to go with Jonathan Milan for Tour de France, thereby relegating Mads to the Giro and missing TDF for the first time in his career. The way he's performing now, he looks like he's out to prove he's still viable as top gun.

Mistermaumau 12 May 2025 at 10:14+ 3792

Hey, all great and deserving of respect but let’s not look at things too pinkly. He’s only just above Marc Hirschi in the UCI rankings. He’s had the potential to do this for the last 7-8 years, it’s just all come together at once, having his moment. Maybe he went on a secret HA camp :-)
Seriously though, he’s NEVER said he doesn’t believe in it (challenge: find me that quote), he said he hates it in words that would get an F1 driver punished, and for the same reasons that his fellow countryman Jonas gets crucified for, being away from family (though given team budgets, there is an obvious solution to that). Besides, not very professional of media and pundits to linger on past out of date sayings, he’s more or less changed his mind in the meantime and is no longer categoric about refusing to try.

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