"What we do isn’t healthy" - Mads Pedersen believes professional cycling is far from good for the body

Mads Pedersen is one of the most talented riders in the peloton and at the same time one of the most unusual. He does not take part in altitude camps unlike most of the peloton, and openly speaks about some of the reasons, as well as some of the reasons to make professional cycling so difficult and even unhealthy.

Whilst it is not a recent discovery, the increase in use of altitude camps over the past few years has been exponential. It is a tool for riders of all levels and categories now often to try and improve their level; whilst some teams begin doing it as early as January when the weather in Europe barely allows for it in any location.

Ahead of the Tour de France, almost the entire peloton who will take part does this, using the altitude aspect to increase the red blood cell count as the body is performing at a lower-oxygen environment. A proven tool, but one that comes with costs.

For Pedersen, the consequences of the sacrifice outweighs the benefits. “You’re at altitude for 3.5 weeks, then you have the Danish National Championships and the Tour [de France]. That means you’re gone for two months," Pedersen said on the Sigma Sports Cafe Ride.

The Dane argues that the psychological impact of spending so much time away from home and so much time in a fully focused environment can lead to exhaustion. Other riders have, in the past, reported exhaustion already going into the Tour, effects of the pressure, focus and demand.

"I don’t get to see my wife and family then, but I can handle that. But I don’t want to see my fucking teammates for two months,” the Dane joked. “I love those guys, but at some point you just need a break.”

It is a sport that requires a lot from the riders. Typically, 30 hours of training per week are required on average, aside from the racing program, but that is only a slice of the cake when it comes to racing at the highest level.

Nutrition, gym work, physiotherapy, injury and illness prevention aside from recoveries; and handling the requirements of the team, often above the riders' own preferences... There are countless variables, aside from all of those the riders face in their personal lives.

Pedersen, in February, fractured a collarbone and a wrist on opposite sides of the body in a crash at the Volta a Catalunya. He spent weeks almost exclusively training indoors, with the same volume as he would on the road, something virtually unheard of for a professional rider - whilst healing his injuries.

“What we do isn’t healthy. Sports are healthy—up to a certain point. The only good thing about what we do is that we motivate others to exercise too," he argues. "But do I hope my kids will become professional cyclists someday? Absolutely not".

He did not want comparisons with Jonas Vingegaard's statements, but Pedersen believes that whilst it improves one's performance on the bike, what they do is not sustainable in the long run and is essentially the destruction of one's body.

“He has his opinions, and I have mine. But for me, it’s not about the danger. It’s about how you’re destroying your own body," he argued. "It’s not healthy. If I could make that decision for my kids, I’d know exactly what to do. Just go play badminton or tennis.”