Mads Pedersen starts season with crash and withdrawal in Tour of Valencia

Mads Pedersen had undoubtedly imagined the start of his cycling season differently. The Dane crashed hard in the opening stage of the Tour of Valencia, on his first race day of 2026, and had to abandon the race. It is still unclear what the exact extent of the damage is for the classics specialist.

Pedersen was considered one of the top favorites to win the opening stage of the Tour of Valencia. It was no coincidence that Lidl-Trek worked to keep the breakaway within reach. However, Pedersen was ultimately not in the group from which Biniam Girmay sprinted to victory.

The Dane had already left the race at that point. He had crashed and was unable to continue. This was reported by Lidl-Trek on social media. The German team announced that they would provide an update when they had more information.