Cyclingflash
Mads Pedersen takes crucial step in recovery towards major classics

Mads Pedersen takes crucial step in recovery towards major classics

Whether we will see Mads Pedersen shine this spring in the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix remains to be seen. The Danish leader is recovering from a broken wrist and collarbone, but his recovery seems to be progressing well. The former world champion has joined the training camp of his Lidl-Trek teammates in Mallorca.

In footage circulating on social media, we see Pedersen ticking off his training kilometers alongside a few teammates. "I turn around and suddenly see a Lidl-Trek rider with a team car behind him. I think, ‘What on earth is that?’” cycling blogger Lukáš Ronald Lukács quotes teammate Mathias Norsgaard.

“When I got closer, I saw the stripes of a world champion. And I’m telling you: he wasn’t riding at 300 watts. He was training at a pace that I could barely keep up with. I just thought: ‘That is absolutely incredible.’”

In other words, Pedersen’s rehabilitation appears to be going well. There is plenty of reason for optimism within his team Lidl-Trek. They still hope for a comeback of the 30-year-old rider in time for the major races this spring.

Optimism 
“Mads is truly our leader for the classics, that is beyond doubt. Fortunately, there is still time. It’s shit that this happened, but luckily he crashed early enough. Though it’s never lucky to crash… But there might still be room to return in time for the big ones,” Toms Skujins said to our camera during the Volta ao Algarve.

Team director Steven de Jongh does not want to jump to conclusions yet. “Mads is irreplaceable, so it has been a major blow. But it’s still far too early to say if it changes the chances or the roles of the other riders. We will see how Mads recovers and only then decide what adjustments are needed, but for now we simply hope that Mads will be there in the spring.”