Denmark is one of the few teams that will go into the men's Olympic Games Road Race with four riders. It is a very complete team with strong riders and a strong leader in Mads Pedersen that doesn't come into the race with modest ambitions; but instead is focused on the victory.
"I'm here to win. The climbs are tough enough to drain our energy a bit," Pedersen said in words to TV2. "That's good for me, if it's going to be a tough race. I also always like a technical course like the one in Paris".
Pedersen is a specialist in the one-day races and classics, and it can be argued that this is a virtually perfect course for him. The Dane first came into the scene with a huge surprising victory at the 2019 World Championships in Yorkshire that was a race marked by the long distances and constant non-steep climbs.
Pedersen has since evolved into a rider that is very consistent in the cobbled classics. This year he won Gent-Wevelgem, finished third at Paris-Roubaix and fourth in Milano-Sanremo. Last season he was fourth in the World Championships and Paris-Roubaix and finished in the Top10 of Milano-Sanremo, Tour of Flanders, European Championships, Dwars door Vlaanderen and Gent-Wevelgem; besides victories in races including the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France.
Few riders can do what he does, and if he achieves the same level he will be a clear contender for victory in Paris. Alongside Mattias Skjelmose and Mikkel Bjerg the team has the chance to race on the attack from far and put others under pressure. Pedersen hasn't raced since the first week of the Tour de France where he abandoned due to a crash but that hasn't lowered his ambitions.
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