Mads Pedersen announces retirement plans (relatively early), for 2 important reasons

Mads Pedersen announced on AftenTour that he plans to retire as a professional cyclist at the end of 2029. The 30-year-old Dane from Lidl-Trek, who currently holds the green jersey at the Tour de France, sees that year’s World Cycling Championships in Copenhagen as the ultimate culmination of his already illustrious career.

Pedersen has a lifetime contract with Lidl-Trek and will therefore not be changing teams anymore. “Everything comes to an end. For me, that will be the day I can no longer compete for the win. Then I won’t belong here anymore. It will be very difficult for me to change roles as a rider—from a leader and winner to someone who always has to help out.”

So, at the end of 2029, the former world champion appears set to bring his career to a close in Denmark. “For me, it’s a special place to end our careers. The plan is for me to retire from cycling after the World Championships in Copenhagen,” said the powerhouse.

Make no mistake: Pedersen won’t be resting on his laurels in the coming years. “People shouldn’t think that I’ve already made my retirement plans and know what I’m going to do next. I’m still in a bubble where it’s all about the green jersey and that darn Monument that I’m missing.”' Pedersen hasn’t won a Monument yet, and that’s what drives him the most—besides the green jersey, which he looks set to win this year. “And once I have a Monument, I’ll want another one,” he assures us.

Pedersen has two main reasons why he sees 2029 as his retirement year. “It takes a toll on the body. I also have a wife at home, and at some point we want to start a family. We’re now reaching an age where that’s going to happen. I’ve had teammates in the past who had problems with their family life, perhaps because their father wasn’t home. That hurt me to see at the time, and I don’t want to end up that way myself.”

"Then I'd rather end my career a little earlier and start a family, because life is long. And I've already achieved a lot of what I wanted to achieve in sports—and I believe I'll achieve the last few things as well before I retire," the Dane concludes.