Give Mads Pedersen a microphone to talk into and you know you’re going to get ‘no bullshit’. It was also a hit again on Friday at the media day of his team Lidl-Trek, where the Dane spoke straightforwardly about what drives him for the upcoming cycling year 2026. A season in which two things are central: winning that first Monument and the green in the Tour.
‘It smells like dogshit here‘, Pedersen shouts when entering the room with journalists. “But that’s what you get when you put fifteen adults in a room of about eight square meters.”
The tone has been set. Our first question ‘Mads, what are your ambitions for 2026?’ is answered with ‘winning as much as possible‘, follow-up question ‘which competitions?’ supplies ‘everywhere I start‘ at the moment we challenge him again with ‘you know what the next question is going to be, I think?’ the Dane continues.
‘It is no secret that I am still chasing that victory in a Monument and we also opt for a slightly different preparation, with the Tour of Valencia instead of Ster van Besseges. But, again: for me it is really true that winning as many matches as possible symbolizes good preparation. Also early in the season and hopefully a Monument and the green jersey will follow.’
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So March 21 is circled in red in the Dane’s agenda: the day of Milan-San Remo. ‘I need to improve my 10 minute values on the Cipressa. When I saw that Filippo Ganna was there last year, I knew that I had to succeed too. Without taking anything away from Ganna, but I have to be able to keep up with that point.’
This will be followed by the big two: Flanders and Roubaix, in which he will again have to compete against Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogacar. ‘I haven’t been far from there. I beat him on value in the Tour of Flanders and I therefore believe that it is possible. Otherwise I wouldn’t give it my all every day, I would sit back and say: okay, I’m second.’
‘I’ll tell you: every time I get to the start, I believe I can beat them all. And that’s what I get paid for,” Pedersen says without any doubt in his voice. ‘We are now racing in a certain way. I don’t hide behind Mathieu and vice versa, and that also applies to Tadej Pogacar, Wout van Aert and so on. And it’s a matter of self-respect, even though we all want to win.’
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That they are working on it at Lidl-Trek is evident from the fact that we have made it possible thanks to Visma | Lease a Bike developed the Gravaa system found on one of the Lidl-Trek bicycles. It works like this: teams are only allowed to use certain gadgets if they are freely available on the market. Last year was the stock of Gravaa is so limited that that was not possible, but Lidl-Trek has still managed to get hold of it by 2026.
‘It would be an addition, but also a piece of shit could be. We try to improve and see other teams trying things out, so we do the same,” Pedersen said. “If you only knew how many of those things we’re trying to improve… there’s so many of them, and so many of them end up in the trash.”
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In any case, a lot has changed in the management of the classics leader. Lead-outs Alex Kirsch (Cofidis) and Ryan Gibbons (retired) left the team and regulars Daan Hoole (Decathlon) and Jasper Stuyven (Soudal Quick-Step) also sought other places. Who will be part of Pedersen’s permanent core in 2026?
“That’s a good question,” he gives himself some breathing room. ‘It is no secret that I wanted to bring Mathias Norsgaard into the team to replace Daan. Although that is not easy, because Daan has grown with us in terms of his way of racing. We have to tackle that quickly with Mathias, because I don’t have ten years left either. That’s why we didn’t bring in a young guest.’
‘We saw how in the Giro insane Vacek is. He’s still young and I talked to him. He is willing to sacrifice himself for me, but on the other hand I can also teach him a thing or two and as two strong riders you can improve each other’s chances. If I am looked at, he can take his chance. And I’m never going to ride behind a teammate, that’s clear as day.’
‘And then we also have Soren Kragh Andersen. We have been friends since we were little and he has now had a good winter, so hopefully we have a nice, strong group together,” Pedersen summarizes.
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After Roubaix, the focus is on the second major goal of this season: the Tour. ‘I had the desire to do the Tour and the green has been a dream of mine for several years. It would be idiotic to also go with Jonathan Milan. Last year I accepted the choice and he won two stages and the green, so that made it a smart choice.’
Olav Kooij and co can get excited, especially on days when there is some relief hidden in the stage. ‘Put me against the fastest men in the world and it looks like I’m going backwards. A sprint has to suit me in a certain way, I don’t get any faster in the flat sprints’, Pedersen knows his own qualities all too well.
Qualities that are combined with life as a monk, which he has had to get used to in a certain way. ‘When I became a professional, I still cycled on an energy bar, banana and coffee. Now you eat like crazy all day long and you are so obsessed with your sport. I didn’t expect that I would ever do that. But if you really want it, you have to come along. And I’m curious to see where we will be when I stop.’
