"We had put all our eggs in one basket with Skjelmose" - Mads Pedersen battles to top-15 but disappointment for Danish in Zurich
Cycling
Mads Pedersen and the rest of the Danish team were very vocal about the fact that the former world champion was only a domestique at the 2024 World Championships, but after the early abandon of Mattias Skjelmose, Pedersen was thrust into a leadership role on a course that didn't necessarily suit his characteristics.
"We do our best to make a result. We had put all our eggs in one basket with Skjelmose, and when he leaves, it is difficult to make a new plan on the bike," admits the 2019 world champion, who eventually finished 13th, 3:52 down on the Rainbow Jersey winner, Tadej Pogacar, in post-race quotes collected by Ekstra Bladet. "It turned out that every man had to take their chance, see the possibilities and do their best."
As mentioned, the parcours of the 2024 World Championships in Zurich didn't fully suit Pedersen. "All day I have been fighting to get back. I knew it would be such a race. We have also seen that in all the other races that have been run here," he analyses honestly. "It pays off not to ride over your limit and constantly fight to get back. With Mattias out, I could afford to do it."
Despite battling and fighting his way up to a top 15 placing, Pedersen never truly believed in his chances of getting into podium contention. "There was never a time when I thought it would be possible," he admits. "The only thing I believed was that maybe there were only 9 men out front. There were 12. But being number 10 or 13... it really doesn't matter."
Pedersen's season isn't completely over just yet either. The Lidl-Trek star still has Paris-Tours and the Japan Cup Cycle Road Race on his programme for the remainder of the 2024 campaign.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- I had no idea about that either.
santiagobenites10-11-2026 - great analysis thanks! appreciate you posting this. I didn't realize CX had a different standard for deviation. this is even more egregious it seems.mij10-11-2026
- As he isn't currently with Red Bull, I guess if he want to race for one more year he needs to find a team. He's 37 so this will be his last year I would guess, unless he wants to race for almost nothing like Froome did.awp10-11-2026
- I think some are making much ado about nothing. Even though Jonas is getting older, before his crash in the Tour, he looked like a solid 2nd all the way home. No one can really climb with Tadej until this year, Eric Mas showed himself which I think was a one off year for him and Paul Seixas has been able to be pretty close to him. Whatever stage race Jonas enters as long as Tadej is not there he is a favorite to win.awp10-11-2026
- Giro or not Giro, he won't win the Tour!MajorPayne10-11-2026
- Very true.awp10-11-2026
- Ciccone had a very strong end of season. Consistently attacking and livening up races. Hope he makes that last leap in progress and starts notching some significant wins. Great rider to watch.Occam10-11-2026
- Me too!!!!!Occam10-11-2026
- they can sign any 100 of top riders today but Pogi will win over Remco any time at the TDF unless something goes wrongabstractengineer10-11-2026
- the time for a GC rider to retire is when they cannot win stages, or have a significant level drop like from winner/podium into top 5/10 consistently. Roglic is still competitive and Froome raced even though he became pack fodder.abstractengineer10-11-2026
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Five Lidl-Trek riders in the top 20 of #Zurich2024 🤩 4️⃣ @Tomashuuns 🇱🇻 9️⃣ @QuinnSimmons9 🇺🇸 1️⃣2️⃣ @BaukeMollema 🇳🇱 1️⃣3️⃣ @Mads__Pedersen 🇩🇰 2️⃣0️⃣ Mathias Vacek 🇨🇿
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